Lux Equestria
by Arbok and Weezing0299
Summary: All Twilight wanted was to have a picnic, but things are rarely that simple. After accidentally causing the revival of an old foe, she and her friends are forced into playing a game involving the Elements of Harmony, which takes place 7 years in the future. Friendships will be tested, hearts will break, lives will end and harmony will turn out to be a fickle thing indeed.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 0**_

It had been over a millennium since Discord had been free of his stone prison. It wasn't easy, but he had finally escaped. He had resurrected his regime of chaos and nothing could have stopped him… except for those meddling ponies and their dragon. How had they overcome his corruption? He had gotten to all six of them! Granted, he had to cheat a little for Fluttershy but the others fell like dominos. So how did they come together to defeat him? It hadn't even been a full twenty-four hours before he was petrified again! The thought of those ponies made his blood boil… at least it would if his blood wasn't solidified.

But in reality, it didn't matter how it happened. The ponies weren't the threat; they never were. The threat came from the Elements of Harmony. No matter who wielded them, they had an annoying habit of turning Discord into stone. If he could only hide and guard them with minions loyal only to him his regime would never end. He had thought of a brilliant scheme, a sort of game he would play with Twilight Sparkle and her band once he was released. They wouldn't get the better of him next time.

The only problem was it was quite difficult get out of his predicament. The last time it was because little 'Tia and her darling sister Luna had lost their connection to the Elements and the spell that bound Discord had been broken. But Twilight Sparkle and company had seen to that, and he doubted they would lose their connection to the Elements anytime soon. That meant the only other way he could escape was if a heinous act of discord was committed. This act couldn't be committed by just anypony; it had to be by somepony connected to the Elements. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were the obvious choice, but their friendship had overcome Discord before and he didn't want to take any chances with them again. So that left little 'Tia and Luna. If the Princesses lost their harmony with each other Discord would be free.

If he could smile he would have. For some time now, Discord had felt an entity gaining power. One who like him had also been defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her Elements of Harmony. The entity was believed to be destroyed, but had only been exorcised. Since its defeat it had been in hiding; slowly regaining its strength. Discord could sense that it had returned to full power. Soon the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony would be returned to his former glory.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 1 The Wrong Princess**_

Beams of sunlight assaulted Twilight Sparkle's eyelids and forced her to awaken. Her magenta eyes eagerly opened and the young purple unicorn bolted upright. Twilight put her front hooves behind her head and stretched until she heard a crack. This prompted her to lie down on her stomach and let her back legs ascend. Once her legs had reached their peak she flexed then in a downward arc until she heard a second crack. The purple unicorn sighed happily and practically melted off of her bed.

Now that she had loosened up her joints it was time to prepare for the big day. Princess Celestia was coming for a visit and it would be her first since the changeling attack. The Princess had suggested inviting her friends because it would be nice to see them all. Twilight agreed and had given assignments to her friends. Now that she was awake, she could make sure they had all done their jobs.

"Spike, bring me my checklist!" she called.

"Five more minutes," a voice groaned from the foot of her bed. Twilight sighed, this time in impatience.

"You've been asleep long enough Spike. The picnic is today and I want to make sure we've got everything under control," she argued.

"But the picnic isn't till 2:30 Twilight and it's barely 8:00!" Spike moaned.

"It's the early pony gets the cider," the unicorn retorted.

"I don't even like cider. I think that argument would work a lot better against Rainbow Dash," the baby dragon retorted. "And why do you want to start so early anyways? You have plenty of time to check up on things. Besides, do you really want to deal with Pinkie Pie so early in the morning?"

He did have a point. Twilight knew it was wrong, but she did have an order of preference when it came to her friends. Pinkie Pie was dead last because she was so irritating. Twilight loved her pink friend like a sister, but Pinkie walked a very fine line between being adorably spontaneous and a pain in the flank.

"Not necessarily, but we don't have to see Pinkie first. We could always visit Rarity," the unicorn suggested with a cunning sparkle in her eye.

"I'll get the checklist!" Spike yelled as he leapt out of his bed. Twilight rolled her eyes playfully. All she had to do was mention Rarity and Spike would be alert and eager. She felt bad for manipulating her assistant's feelings to her benefit, but it was his own fault. He made it to easy.

"I found it Twilight, now hurry up! I want to go see Rarity!" her assistant called.

"Coming Don Juan," she chuckled to herself.

"Can we come? Please?" When Twilight and Spike arrived at the Carousel Boutique they were greeted by the eager faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apparently it had been Rarity's turn to watch the girls and they said that she was still asleep. When Twilight explained why she had arrived so early in the morning the girls pleaded to be invited to the picnic.

The Princess wanted to see Twilight's friends, but she wasn't sure about bringing the Crusaders. Twilight didn't have anything against them but she had already made her plans.

"I'm sorry girls, but—" Twilight didn't the chance to finish her sentence.

"Of course you can come! It'll be tons of fun and I'm sure the Princess would love meeting the sisters of Applejack and Rarity," Spike interrupted.

"I don't have a sister so what about me?" Scootaloo asked.

"Don't worry, Ah'm sure the Princess would be happy to meet our favorite chicken," Apple Bloom teased.

"I'm not a chicken!" Scootaloo yelled and jumped on her friend. The girls wrestled playfully and Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes.

"I'll go wake up Rarity for you. Wait right here," she offered. Twilight shook her head.

"You don't have to do that Sweetie. We can just come back later," she replied. The little white unicorn shook her head vigorously.

"Nonsense! It's morning and she needs to get up. Plus it's fun to wake up Rarity," she rejected and bounded up the stairs. As soon as she was gone, Twilight turned on Spike and glared daggers at her assistant.

"Why did you invite them to come? I was going to say no," she demanded.

"Exactly. Did you see how excited they looked Twilight? I couldn't bear to see the disappointment on their faces," the baby dragon answered.

Twilight knew he was right; she didn't want to imagine the girl's disappointed faces either. At least it was only three ponies. All that meant was that Applejack would have to make a little more food. No big deal, right? Twilight's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by loud singing followed by shouting.

"SWEETIE BELLE, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" Twilight could actually feel the ground shake when Rarity yelled. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had stopped wrestling and were grinning.

"Sweetie's gonna get it," Scootaloo chuckled.

"Ah'm sure happy Applejack isn't as mean as Rarity," Apple Bloom agreed.

"What's going to happen to Sweetie?" Spike asked.

"We'll see in a second," Apple Bloom answered and pointed at the door. As soon as she looked at the purple door it flew open and a truly horrified Sweetie Belle flew out.

"Come on girls, today we're going to be Cutie Mark Crusader Retreaters!" she squealed as she rushed past them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just looked at each other and shrugged.

"We've done weirder," Scootaloo admitted and ran after her friend.

"Bye Twilight, bye Spike. See ya'll at the picnic," Apple Bloom said as she left. Twilight was about to say goodbye but she was distracted by movement at the door.

A snow-white unicorn with a dark purple mane and tail burst out of the doorway. The majority of her body was covered in a red kimono, decorated with pink flowers and a pink sash. The unicorn's face was masked with guacamole and her each of her eyes was adorned with a cucumber slice. Her mouth was twisted into a snarl and Twilight could actually see the smoke coming out of her friend's nostrils. She also noticed that Spike was cowering behind her.

"Rarity, are you alright?" Twilight asked. She knew the answer was no but she had to alert Rarity of their presence. Her friend's eyes snapped open and her mouth reverted to its usual smile.

"Twilight! My sincerest apologies, darling. I had an unfortunate encounter with my sister this morning and I my temper got the best of me," Rarity apologized. Twilight nodded her head.

"I understand, but Spike seems to be a little shaken up," she chuckled, tilting her head down towards her assistant. Spike came out of his hiding place swelling with indignation.

"I wasn't shaken up," he disagreed. Twilight just continued laughing but Rarity pouted and her eyes began to water.

"Oh no, I've upset my Spikey-wikey! I'm so terrible!" she wailed. Rarity fell to the floor and began to cry. She was so melodramatic it was hard to determine when she was actually distraught or just overreacting. Spike always believed it was the former. He treated every episode as if Rarity's sanity depended on his tenderness. He rushed to her side and caressed one of her hooves in his claws.

"It's okay, you didn't upset me Rarity. I'm fine," he whispered. The white unicorn looked up at Spike and the tears only made her azure eyes sparkle.

"Are you sure? But there must be something I can do to clear my conscience," she insisted. Spike began to scratch his chin in thought. Then his emerald eyes grew in excitement.

"Well, if it isn't too much to ask, I could go for a sapphire or two," he suggested. Rarity leapt to her feet with newfound purpose.

"But of course, anything for my Spike-wikey," she said and gently rubbed his cheek. Spike swooned at her action and Twilight had to support him so he didn't fall.

"Twilight be a dear and find a sapphire for Spike? I'd do it myself but I have to wash my face and hair," Rarity asked. Rarity was had already disappeared inside her house and gone up the stairs before Twilight could refuse.

"Yeah Twilight, be a dear," Spike chuckled as he followed Rarity. Twilight grunted irritably. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

It had been a full hour before Rarity had felt her appearance was satisfactory; although Twilight didn't notice much of a difference. She wasn't wearing the kimono and the guacamole cucumber combo was absent from her face. However, everything else about her appearance seemed exactly the same. It couldn't have taken her a full hour to take off a kimono and wash her face could it? Considering that there was not a speck of guacamole left on Rarity's face, the answer was probably yes.

When she came down the stairs Twilight had asked her about the picnic. Rarity's job was to give everypony a makeover and to make or repair dresses for them. The dress Twilight would be wearing was the dress Rarity had designed for her as a birthday gift. She had given Rarity the dress to iron and clean and was coming to retrieve it.

"Here you go Twilight, a simply marvelous piece of work if I do say so myself," Rarity stated proudly.

Twilight agreed that the dress was marvelous. Of all the dresses she owned this one was her favorite. It was a light tan tunic that covered her body, with the exception of her neck, ankles and tail. Just below Twilight's neck was a pink ribbon bow-tie that she thought was just lovely. The dress was simple and Twilight believed herself to be a simple mare. Spike often teased her about looking adorkable in the dress; which Twilight had decided to take it as a compliment.

The dress was kept in plastic wrap and Twilight carefully stuffed it into the blue saddlebag on her back. This caused Rarity to twitch uncomfortably.

"After I did all that work to refine your dress you stuff it in a bag," she mumbled.

"Don't worry Rarity the dress will be fine. That's Twilight's special bag Pinkie gave her for her birthday. There's also an orange bag and anything you put in one bag will appear in the other. We left Owloysius back at the library so he could hang it while we continue our errands," Spike explained.

"The two bags are connected? How exactly does that work?" Rarity asked curiously. Spike just shrugged.

"I've learned not to question Pinkie or her gifts," he answered. Rarity just nodded in agreement.

"Ok, we're off to see Applejack. See you later Rarity!" Twilight called. She started to trot out of the door when she noticed that Spike wasn't following her. She turned around and witnessed Rarity giving him another sapphire.

"See you later Spikey-wikey," she patronized and kissed his forehead. Spike swooned again and this time Twilight didn't bother to catch him. Instead she just used her magic and teleported Spike onto her back.

"I love her," Spike muttered to himself. Twilight just ignored him. The duo left the Carousel Boutique and began to walk towards Sweet Apple Acres when a voice shouted: "Watch out guys!"

Twilight and Spike, who had snapped out of his dazed state, turned their heads to see an object speeding towards them from the sky. A rainbow streak trailed behind it and as soon as the object touched the ground it skidded to halt directly in front of them. It was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. She flipped her hair nonchalantly, revealing her hard pink eyes.

"What's crackin'?" Rainbow Dash greeted.

"We're on our way to Sweet Apple Acres to check up on Applejack's preparations for the picnic," Spike explained.

"Already, but the picnic isn't for a few hours?" Dash questioned.

"You're telling me," Spike mumbled.

"So why are you up so early Rainbow? You're more of a crack of noon pony than crack of dawn one," Twilight asked. Dash's lips curled into an irritated frown.

"Scootaloo and her friends. Apparently there's a cutie mark for waking ponies up in the morning and I was the one they experimented with. They threw apples at my house and I'm trying to find them to make them clean it up. Those little buckers," she answered.

"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped as she quickly covered Spike's ears. "Language, we have a baby dragon in our midst," she scolded.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry Spike, I was so busy being awesome I forgot you were there," Rainbow replied unapologetically. Twilight scowled at her arrogant friend.

"Well I find it's better to get work done early so there's more time later to relax. Early pony gets the cider, right Rainbow?" she remarked. Dash returned the scowl and glared at the unicorn.

"Don't remind me," she grumbled. Twilight barely suppressed a laugh. All it took was one well timed comment and Rainbow's ego would get the best of her. Just like Spike she made it way too easy.

"So have you done your job yet?" Twilight inquired.

"Not yet, but you don't need to worry Twilight. I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat remember? I've got plenty of time to do it." The pegasus shrugged.

"But why procrastinate an easy job when you it's more convenient to just get it out of the way?" the unicorn pressed.

"I already told you, I have to find those fillies," Dash answered.

"Then why don't you come with us? There's a chance they'll be at the farm and once you're done with them you can go do your job," Twilight suggested. Rainbow nodded unenthusiastically, not seeming too eager to do her job. That didn't surprise Twilight in the slightest.

"Hey Rainbow Dash, I have a question. If your house is in the sky how are the girls going to get up there to clean?" Spike asked. Dash opened her mouth to answer, but then she stopped. Her eyes narrowed and she started to rub her chin with her hoof. Twilight wondered how much thought Rainbow had actually put into her plan. The pegasus suddenly began to clop in excitement and her eyes brightened.

"Pinkie Pie! She has all sorts of weird stuff she uses to fly. I could just borrow something from her. Ah yeah, problem solved!" she exclaimed and punched the air in victory. Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbow's excitement.

"Can we go now?" she demanded irritably.

"Sure thing Twilight. You two are going to slow me down so it's best if we go ahead and get a move on," Dash answered. Twilight Sparkle's eyes flashed with indignation, but the flash simmered down into a mischievous twinkle.

"I'll slow you down? Well if you're so sure about that then why don't you put your money where your mouth is? You and I will race to Sweet Apple Acres. If you win, I'll use my magic to do all your work for a month," Twilight challenged.

"And what if you win?" Dash asked intrigued.

"If I win, you have to read _it _and the rest of the series," Twilight said. Rainbow Dash cringed at Twilight's words.

Not long ago, Twilight had received a new shipment of books for her library. Dash was with her at the time and the two of them started flipping through the new material. Rainbow found a book about vamponies and she started reading. After not even three chapters she quit.

Twilight gave the book a chance and quickly discovered why Rainbow hated it; the characters were unrealistic and had no depth, the dialogue was forced, the writing was horrible and the vamponies sparkled in the sunlight! That was just stupid. But Twilight never left a book unfinished, regardless of how vile it was, and she had read the whole series. Rainbow had refused to even look at the book again and only referred to the book as _it._

"What's the matter? Is the great Rainbow Dash scared?" Twilight teased. Dash stood up on her back legs and banged on her chest with pride.

"Buck no! You'll be eating my rainbow dust unicorn!" she declared. Rainbow dashed into the air and prepared for takeoff. With the exception of Dash's foul language, Twilight's ploy had worked perfectly. She had gotten under Rainbow's skin and now the pegasus was ready to prove herself. It was almost a shame that she had no chance of winning.

"Would you do the honors Spike?" Twilight asked her assistant. The baby dragon nodded enthusiastically.

"3, 2, 1… GO!" he announced. Dash blasted off like a rocket as soon as Spike had finished and in a matter of seconds she had completely disappeared from view.

"Um, Twilight, how do you plan on beating that?" Spike asked pointing to the rainbow afterimage in the sky.

"Like this," the unicorn replied in a matter of fact tone. Twilight's horn began to glow with a purple aura and she focused her mind on Sweet Apple Acres.

"See you soon Rainbow Dash," she promised before she and Spike vanished.

"That's not fair and you know it," Rainbow protested. She had been as giddy as a filly all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. She was going to have a whole month without chores! So awesome! But when she got to Applejack's farm she found that Twilight had beaten her by teleporting. Now instead of a month of free time she was going to have to read _it._ She really hated Twilight Sparkle at that moment.

"It's plenty fair Rainbow. 'Member the Iron Pony competition? Ya'll said because Ah never banned wings then by using 'em you hadn't cheated. Ya'll didn't ban magic so Twilight never cheated." Dash didn't care too much for Applejack either.

"I guess," she agreed irritably.

"So what brings ya'll to the farm so early?" Applejack asked.

"I'm here to check up on the food preparations and to inform you that we'll need some more because your sister and her friends are coming," Twilight answered.

"Apple Bloom's comin'? Well why didn't ya'll tell me earlier?" Applejack demanded.

"Because we didn't know till a little while ago," Twilight replied as she gave Spike an irritated glare.

"Yeah, my bad," Spike apologized as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"An' what brings you 'round these parts RD?" Applejack asked the pegasus.

"Your sister and her friends assaulted my house with fruit and I'm looking for some payback," Dash declared.

"Hold on sugarcube, what kind of payback are we talkin' 'bout?" Applejack questioned sternly. Her body tensed up, as if she was prepared for a fight.

"I'm gonna get them to clean my house," Rainbow answered. Applejack immediately relaxed.

"Oh that's fine. Ah haven't seen her since Ah dropped her at Rarity's last night but Ah'll be sure to give her a heart to heart later," she promised. Dash replied by giving a satisfied nod.

"Alright, I'm off to find Pinkie. The girls are going to need one of her doohickeys to be able to clean my house. Later," Rainbow said before dashing off.

"And don't forget to clear the clouds!" Twilight yelled, but she was too late. Only the rainbow afterimage remained of her friend. Applejack chuckled and turned to Twilight.

"The food's comin' great Twi. Granny Smith an' Big McIntosh have been workin' harder than Mayor Mare in an election year. We've been makin' extra in case somepony works up an appetite so there'll be enough for the girls too. It'll be done in a couple hours," she reported.

"Dependable as always, thank you Applejack," Twilight complimented. Her earth pony friend gave her a modest smile and a friendly tip of the hat.

"So why did you get all tense a second ago?" Twilight asked. The modest smile turned into a frown.

"Well, ya'll know how RD can be. Rainbow's a good friend an' everything, but she's aggressive. Ah normally don't mind that but when she mentions my sister an' payback in the same sentence Ah can't help but tense up," Applejack answered.

Twilight knew what her friend meant. She had a quick flashback of the time when she and her friends were ordered had to remove a dragon because it was causing smoke all over Equestria. While Twilight had wanted to reason with it, Rainbow had been itching for a fight. After other attempts failed, she had gotten her wish but it only made the dragon angry. Thank Celestia they had Fluttershy with them at the time. She had saved them all from the dragon's wrath.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low rumble behind her.

"We were in such a rush this morning I forgot to eat breakfast," Spike whined.

"Oh spare me Spike. You were the one who couldn't wait to see Rarity. Besides, you stuffed your face with sapphires when we saw her," Twilight chuckled.

"I guess my stomach forgot that part. Hey Applejack could I have an apple?" he asked.

"Spike! It's rude to ask for food without being offered," Twilight reprimanded.

"Nonsense Twilight. Ya'll are like family to me so it's plenty ok," Applejack disagreed.

She ran over to the nearest apple tree and gave it a good kick. Apples rained down from the branches into a barrel below but Applejack caught one with her tail and threw it to Spike.

"On the house!" she called as the dragon caught it.

"Gee, thanks AJ!" he said happily and he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth.

"So, are we going to Fluttershy's now?" he asked with his mouth full. Chunks of chewed apple flew from his mouth and hit Twilight in the face.

"See, Twi? Ah told ya'll he was like family. Apple Bloom does that all the time," Applejack laughed. Twilight bit her lip as she telekinetically moved apple bits off of her face. Applejack's family might encourage uncouth behavior but she didn't have to endorse Spike's lack of manners.

"We'll be seeing you Applejack, and don't forget that you have a grooming session with Rarity," Twilight reminded. Applejack narrowed her eyes.

"Ah didn't see you givin' Rainbow a similar remindin'. Do ya'll think Ah'm more likely to forget?" she asked sternly. Twilight shook her head.

"Not at all Applejack. You're just more likely to ignore the fact that you've remembered," the unicorn replied.

Although they were friends, Applejack and Rarity didn't interact with each other very often. Rarity was urbane and preferred to be clean, while Applejack was a country girl who enjoyed hard work. While Rainbow wasn't too fond of makeovers, she didn't disdain them the way Applejack did. The orange earth pony fell onto her back and began to literally roll with laughter.

"You're right Twilight, but don't worry. Ah promise to go see Rarity as soon as Ah'm done here," she vowed.

"Pinkie Promise?" Spike teased. Applejack chuckled.

"Yes, Spike. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she recited while doing the motions. Spike gave a satisfied chuckle and Twilight simply nodded.

"See you at the picnic," she said as she teleported to Fluttershy's.

The ludic harmony of chirping birds awaited Twilight and Spike at Fluttershy's cottage. Although they were small, Twilight believed the sinfonietta was very talented. Even when they weren't trying they still produced beautiful music. The birds flew around the cottage singing playfully and Twilight breathed deeply; as if to inhale the tranquility.

"It's beautiful," she whispered to herself.

"Meh, it's alright. I think Fluttershy needs to add a bird that does rock-'n'-roll. That would take the level of awesome up to eleven!" Spike declared.

"Someone's been spending too much time with Rainbow Dash," Twilight mumbled.

"Better an overexposure to Dash than to Pinkie," the baby dragon countered.

It pained Twilight that she was right. Familiarity breeds contempt, which was especially true around Dash. But spending too much time with Pinkie Pie could affect a pony's sanity. Twilight had seen enough violations of the laws of science to put Pinkie Pie in prison for life.

"Oh, hey Twilight. Hey Spike. What brings you two here?" A voice as sweet as honey and as fresh as morning dew grabbed the unicorn's attention. A pale yellow pegasus stood in the doorway of the cottage. Her long pink mane fell into her turquoise eyes, which were bright with curiosity.

"Good morning Fluttershy, Spike and I are here to check on the music. It sounds beautiful by the way," Twilight answered. Fluttershy lowered her gaze bashfully.

"Um, thank you Twilight but I can't take the credit. The birdies always sound good, regardless of me," she replied.

"I disagree; I think they've really improved since the day I first arrived in Ponyville. Especially the blue jay, I was a little worried about him the time I first heard him sing," she commented.

She instantly regretted saying that. The other birds began to chirp mockingly at the blue jay, while he ruffled his feathers. The blue bird swooped down over her and got his revenge by defecating on Twilight's face. Spike fell off the unicorn and began to literally roll with laughter.

"Direct hit!" he managed to squeak through his guffaw. Fluttershy didn't share his amusement.

"Oh Twilight, I'm so sorry! Mr. Blue Jay is really sensitive, but I never thought he'd do something like this. You go wash your face and I'll give Mr. Blue Jay a talking to," she apologized. His punishment would be a talking to from Fluttershy? Twilight had a feeling her friend's method of discipline would be rather inefficient, but she didn't bother arguing. She ran into the cottage and made her way to the bathroom.

Like Rarity, Fluttershy had a knack for fashion. She wasn't nearly as passionate as her unicorn friend but her eye for beauty was prevalent. The bathroom tiles, as well as her sink, were made of stainless white marble. The small toilet was made of cedar and had a crimson varnish. Her shower curtain was a tapestry hoof-made by Rarity. It was made of Rarity's special golden silk and used Fluttershy's cutie mark of three butterflies as its emblem.

But by far the most beautiful piece of furniture was the mirror. The glass was flawless and sparkled like lake water. The frame was made from pure silver and had three golden butterflies at the crest. As Twilight gazed at her reflection she felt flawed. The mirror was so beautiful and she was so average. She normally didn't fret about her appearance but couldn't help herself after looking at that mirror.

Twilight sighed and turned the faucet in front of the mirror. She hunched over and repeatedly splashed cold water onto her face. A white substance began to flow into the sink and down the drain. It made Twilight feel sick to know that stuff had been on her but at least it was coming off. She shifted her eyes towards the mirror to see if there was any residue.

Instead of seeing her own reflection, Twilight saw another pony. It was an earth pony with; a light pink coat, a darker cotton-candy mane, and bright blue eyes stared back at the unicorn with joy and a bright smile.

"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shrilled.

"Ah!" Twilight yelled in shock. Her hooves flailed in the air in surprise and she fell onto her back. Pinkie giggled at her predicament.

"Ooh, ooh did I surprise you? Cuz you know I love to surprise ponies. It's so much fun! It's almost as much fun as throwing parties. Oh, maybe I should throw you a surprise party later to celebrate my surprising you just now!" Pinkie gleefully bounced out of the mirror and into Fluttershy's bathroom.

"Pinkie, how did you do that?" Twilight asked once the shock had worn off.

"Do what?" Pinkie asked innocently.

"How did you get here?" the unicorn demanded, quickly losing her patience.

"Through the mirror silly," the earth pony giggled.

"I know that, but how? How did you even get in the mirror?" Twilight asked exasperated.

"Oh Twilight, it's easy. It's just a hop, skip and jump!" Pinkie answered. Twilight slapped herself in the face with her hoof. She would never understand Pinkie Pie, so why did she even bother to try?

"So what are you doing in Fluttershy's bathroom?" Pinkie questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing," Twilight retorted.

"Well I'm here cuz my Pinkie Sense told me that you were here, and I needed to talk to you to tell you that I finished decorating the park for the picnic!" the earth pony answered happily. She closed her eyes and began to absent-mindedly bounce around Twilight.

"Oh, well thank you Pinkie. I appreciate your sense of obligation," the unicorn stated.

"Obligation? I didn't think you were the type to make up words Twilight," Pinkie chucked. Twilight was going to say that she didn't make up any new words but then she decided against it. Arguing with Pinkie Pie was like arguing with a sack of rocks; there was no way to win.

"So you never told me why you're in Fluttershy's bathroom," Pinkie reminded.

"Well, let's just say I had an unfortunate encounter with one of Fluttershy's birds," Twilight answered a little embarrassed.

"Unfortunate encounter? It wasn't with Mr. Blue Jay was it? I hope you didn't offend him, he's very sensitive," Pinkie stated.

"So it seems," Twilight mumbled. Pinkie Pie giggled again.

"Well it was nice seeing you Twilight but I've gotta go back to Sugarcube Corner. I didn't tell Gummy I was leaving and he gets really cranky when I disappear for no reason. I need to go make him a cupcake so he doesn't get angry with me, bye!" And with a hop, skip and jump Pinkie Pie had returned into the mirror and disappeared.

Now that her reflection had returned to the mirror, Twilight was able to gaze at it. While she did look dazed, Pinkie had that effect on ponies, at least her face was clean. There were no traces of bird residue. Satisfied, Twilight made her way back to Fluttershy and Spike.

As soon as she exited the cottage, Mr. Blue Jay flew towards her. Twilight placed her hoof in front of her face to defend from another aerial assault, but none came. Instead, the small bird landed in front of her. His wings were clasped together and he was chirping frantically. It was almost as if he was begging.

"He's saying he's sorry and hopes you'll forgive him. You will, won't you Twilight?" Fluttershy explained. Twilight nodded.

"Forgiven," she replied.

Mr. Blue Jay stood up and wiped his forehead with relief. He flew off to join his companions while eyeing Fluttershy wearily. Maybe a talking too from Fluttershy was effective discipline. Even Spike looked nervous.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have laughed at you the way I did." Although his words were directed at Twilight, Spike kept looking over at Fluttershy. The pegasus looked at Twilight expectantly.

"You're forgiven too Spike," the unicorn replied with a chuckle. The baby dragon also wiped his brow and sighed in relief. What did Fluttershy do to him? The pegasus gave a satisfied smile.

"Now that you're all forgiven we can get started. Twilight, you and Spike can sit on that log over there and the birds will perform their number for you," she suggested. Twilight nodded and sat on the log the way Lyra would. There was a mint green unicorn in Ponyville who had an odd way of sitting, and imitating her had become popular around Ponyville. Twilight found Lyraing, as it came to be known, to be surprisingly comfortable. Spike sat next to her in a similar posture, although the position was normal for a baby dragon.

"Audience ready?" Fluttershy asked sweetly. Her friends nodded and Fluttershy turned to her birds.

"Ok now, just remember to do your best. And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four," she counted and thrust her hooves forward. That motion unleashed a crescendo of beautiful music. The sinfonietta began to sing at a soft pitch, but their voices gradually grew in power until they echoed trumpet blasts.

One of the birds mirrored the sounds of a bass drum and kept the beat while the others blasted away. Slowly the remaining birds, quit trumpeting and began to whistle a soft nocturne. Twilight felt as if she was being serenaded. Spike seemed to be feeling something similar because a dazed grin decorated his face. Twilight smiled. This music was perfect for Princess Celestia. The music finally ended and Fluttershy turned to her friends.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked. Twilight hopped off the log and began to clop in delight.

"It was wonderful! Aside from the trumpet and drum parts, the music was graceful; but those parts made the song powerful. Grace and power are what Princess Celestia embodies!" Twilight exclaimed. Fluttershy lowered her gaze again, but a small smile crept up on her lips.

"I'm glad you liked it," she said shyly.

Twilight nodded and began to pace. She had seen everypony and everything seemed according to schedule. Rarity might have trouble with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but the others wouldn't require much work. Rainbow could do her job easily and Applejack's work was coming swimmingly. Pinkie said she had finished decorating and she had cleared her ideas with Twilight last week so that wasn't a problem and Fluttershy's birds were brilliant! Spike was right, she worried too much. Nothing could go wrong.

It was finally 2:30 and finally time to see Princess Celestia. The spot Twilight had picked for the picnic was the same spot her friends had watched the meteor shower months before. It was nice to see everypony together, especially after they had been to Rarity's.

Rarity, wanting to appear as regal as possible in the Princess' company, was wearing the Princess Platinum costume she had used for the Hearth's Warming Eve performance. She was allowed to keep the costume and occasionally wore it to formal events. In addition, the fire-ruby Spike had given her adorned her neck. Due to the attention it brought her, it quickly became one of her prized possessions. Her natural beauty was accentuated by her makeup and it made her entire body seem to glow. Even her mane seemed silkier than usual.

In complete contrast, Applejack looked almost pristine. Her hat was replaced with a silver tiara, and her mane was free of its usual ponytail style. A pendant hung loosely from her neck which bore the Apple Family a crest, which was simply a large golden apple. Aside from the tiara and necklace, the only other thing Applejack wore were the boots from her Gala dress.

Other than Applejack, the plainest pony was Rainbow Dash. She didn't have on any noticeable makeup or accessories. Instead, Rainbow was clothed in a flight suit Rarity had designed for her after the Best Young Fliers Competition. After Dash had saved her life, Rarity made the flight suit to repay the pegasus. Everypony knew that Rainbow Dash would eventually join the Wonderbolts; so having a custom flight suit was a perfect gift.

Despite not enjoying her time in the limelight, Fluttershy ironically chose to wear one of the dresses from her modeling career. The dresses had been in high demand, even after she had quit, and Rarity had made multiple replicas. This particular dress was made of leaves and was adorned with a clover-covered white cape. Rarity complimented the dress by fixing Fluttershy's mane into a bun and tying it with a leaf. It was the perfect representation of the pegasus' affinity for nature.

And then there was Pinkie Pie. She didn't mind Rarity trying to modify her, but unfortunately nothing ever seemed to work. Makeup didn't seem to affect her appearance and her mane and tail were uncooperative. Her appearance hadn't changed since Twilight had seen her last aside from what she was wearing; a large white cupcake with firecracker sticking out of it was strapped to her head, her body was dressed in a black tuxedo and she had flippers on her hooves. Twilight doubted Rarity approved of the outfit, but let Pinkie Pie do what she wanted. The best ways to describe that she was wearing would be incoherent and scatterbrained. Coincidentally both of those words were adjectives of Pinkie Pie.

Neither were adjectives of Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn wore the dress she had picked up earlier from Rarity and no other accessories. Spike, most likely so he could impress Rarity, tried to look as bedazzling as possible. Twilight had used her magic to create a top hat and tuxedo jacket for him. She transmuted the hat from a rock and the jacket from a piece of fabric she found lying around. Spike also wore the bowtie Rarity had given him the night of the meteor shower. Surprisingly, it went well with his tux.

With the exception of Princess Celestia and the Crusaders, Twilight and Spike were the last to arrive. Before she could ask where the girls were, Twilight became of aware of her friends snickers and grins. Even Fluttershy was grinning. Something was up and Twilight was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Ok, what's everypony laughing about?" she demanded.

"It's nothing Twilight. You look great, both of you," Rainbow replied, doing her best to suppress her laughter. It wasn't very good. She cracked and started to burst out laughing. Applejack gave her a good kick in the side to get her to stop, but Applejack was also having a hard time. Twilight decided to focus her attention on Fluttershy. If anypony would tell the unicorn what was going on it would be her. Fluttershy kept trying to avoid looking the unicorn in the eye, but Twilight strategically followed her friend's gaze. Fluttershy finally opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie.

"I'm planning the wedding! I'm planning the wedding!" she squealed happily as she bounced around Twilight and Spike. Wedding? What wedding? Twilight looked over at Spike but the baby dragon just shrugged. He was as clueless as she was.

"My sincerest apologies Pinkie Pie, but I believe that I am better equipped to handle the arrangements," Rarity refuted.

"But I called dibs! You all heard me, I called dibs!" Pinkie squeaked as she continued her absentminded bouncing.

"Sorry Rarity, but she did call dibs. You can plan the reception," Fluttershy suggested. Rarity's eyes doubled in size.

"Of course, the reception. It's going to be big-nay! It will be grand! So grand and spectacular, that the Grand Galloping Gala will resemble one of Trixie's magic shows by comparison. I can hardly wait—"

"Will somepony please tell me what you're talking about?" Twilight yelled. She began to pant softly and Spike gently rubbed the back of her neck.

"You shouldn't yell like that Twilight; it's bad for you throat," Spike said. Twilight's potential reply was interrupted by her friends' reactions. Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy were smiling at them and saying: "Awwww." Applejack and Rainbow Dash just continued to snicker. Suddenly Twilight understood what her friends were talking about.

"I'm not gonna marry Spike. He's my assistant and friend but that's it. Besides, he's too young for me and he's a dragon. That's just weird," she said flatly. The disappointment on her friends' faces broke Twilight's heart but it was the truth. Yes, she knew Spike better than anypony else and vice versa. Yes, they lived together; and yes she trusted him more than anypony else. However, Spike would never be anything more than her best friend. Judging from the disgusted look on his face, he seemed to agree.

"So where are the girls?" Twilight asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, they said somethin' 'bout last minute crusadin' when Ah saw 'em earlier. Don't worry, they'll be here soon," Applejack answered.

"Did you remember to tell them about my house?" Dash demanded.

"Yes Rainbow Ah did. They're sorry for what happened and promised to clean up after the picnic. Ah think they added somethin' about Cutie Mark Crusader Janitors," Applejack replied. Dash nodded in satisfaction but Rarity looked horrified.

"My sister as a janitor! I'll never outlive the shame!" she groaned and fell over onto a conveniently placed pillow. Applejack and Rainbow just rolled their eyes at her melodrama. Even Spike didn't bother comforting her; he seemed too preoccupied with the food.

A large red and white tablecloth loaded with apple themed treats lay before him. Spike reached for a candy apple but his claw was swatted by Twilight's hoof.

"Spike! Don't be so greedy. We have to wait for the Princess," she scolded. Spike gently rubbed his claw and glared back at her.

"But I'm hungry and it's just one candy apple. It's not like she'd miss it," he retorted.

"Where is the Princess? She's usually punctual," Fluttershy commented. She was right. Princess Celestia was very informal with Twilight and her friends, but she was never late. An ominous feeling swept over Twilight Sparkle.

"All of this just for me? Why, I don't know what to say." Now a new feeling swept over Twilight. It was fear. That wasn't the voice of Princess Celestia. This voice was deeper and more aggressive. There was also a sinister hint to it and Twilight knew exactly who it belonged to before she turned around to look. The shock on her friends' faces confirmed her suspicions.

"I found these three young fillies wandering around and decided to escort them to you. Aren't you going to thank me?" the voice asked. Lightning flashed all around and the sunlight began to fade. Although it was only slightly after 2:30, the warm sun had quickly set and was replaced by the cold dark moon. Twilight finally turned around.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, all three dressed in their Crusader capes, sat in front of her cowering in fear before another pony. A large alicorn mare stood before Twilight and glared down at her with eyes of ice. The alicorn's night black wings beat viciously and each wing beat was followed by a flash of lightning. The moonbeams illuminated the crescent moon cutie mark on the mare's flank and the smirk that had formed on the Wicked Mare of Darkness' lips.

"I'm sorry my little ponies, but your Princess is in another castle," Nightmare Moon cackled.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 2 So Very Wrong**_

"Where is Princess Celestia?" Twilight demanded.

"And why should I tell you?" Nightmare Moon retorted.

"Because we'll beat you all the way to Tartarus if you don't!" Dash declared and she flew right into Nightmare Moon's face. The alicorn was unfazed by Rainbow's brashness.

"And how do you plan on doing that? You have no chance against me without your precious Elements of Harmony," she mocked.

Nightmare Moon was right. Twilight had managed to defeat an Ursa Minor once, but that encounter had taken a toll on her. There was no way she had the power to compete with an alicorn without the Elements.

"You mean these?" Pinkie Pie asked. All eyes turned to the earth pony that was holding all six Elements!

"Pray tell Pinkie where did you get those?" Rarity asked.

"From that old book Twilight keeps them in. When Nightmare Moon appeared my knee got pinchy; and that means something scary is gonna happen. So I took off the blue bag on my back and jumped into it and I came out of the orange bag at Twilight's house. Then I found the Elements and jumped back into the orange bag and came out my blue bag," she explained.

"Honestly, it don't matter how she got 'em. The point is they're here and we have an enemy to fight," Applejack claimed. She quickly ripped the pendant off of her neck and replaced it with the Element of Honesty. She then proceeded to kick off her boots and shake the tiara out of her hair.

"Applejack, don't be so rough! I worked hard on all of those," Rarity objected.

"Sorry Rarity, but Ah hate being weighed down by unwanted accessories," the earth pony replied. She reached into her long mane and pulled out her hat and scrunchie. Her quickly tied her hair into its usual pony tail and put her pendant inside the hat before flipping to onto her head.

"Let's get 'er done."

"Applejack's right. Who needs clothes?" Dash agreed as she slipped out of her flight suit and took her Element. The other four followed suit, although Rarity was reluctant to do so. She still kept the crown on her head however.

"It will not be a distraction. I promise," she stated.

"So now that you have your Elements what are you going to do with them?" Nightmare Moon asked. The alicorn's voice revealed no fear when she spoke. She wasn't afraid of the Elements despite being previously being defeated by them. Why was that… and how was she even there? Luna had reformed; she wasn't consumed with bitterness or envy anymore. Could it be that it was all a façade and that Luna had never truly given up her dark powers? Or was Nightmare Moon a completely different entity?

"I already told you. We're gonna beat you all the way to Tartarus! Ready girls?" Dash rallied. Twilight's friends nodded in unison, determination etched into their faces. Even Fluttershy's eyes had hardened and her lips had curled.

"Wait, we can't fight until we know the Princess is safe. If Princess Celestia isn't here, but Nightmare Moon is then she must have done something to her. And if she's the only one who knows where the Princess is then I don't want to jeopardize our chances of finding her by fighting," Twilight objected. The snarl and fury filled eyes on Fluttershy's face were quickly replaced with a doubtful frown and gaze.

"Twilight's right. We shouldn't jump straight into battle," she agreed. While Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity nodded in agreement Rainbow Dash seemed unconvinced.

"And why not? If we defeat her the Princess will show up just like she did the last time," she argued.

"How can you be sure it will happen that way?" Twilight questioned.

"I just am!" Dash defended.

"And that's not good enough!" Twilight refuted. "We need to know for sure before we do anything rash."

"You should listen to your friends Rainbow. They are clearly smarter than you," Nightmare Moon hissed.

"Nopony calls Rainbow Dash stupid!" Dash yelled. Without thinking, she rushed towards the trash-talking alicorn. Before she could land a hit the Wicked Mare of Darkness dissipated into a thick purple mist.

"Bravo Rainbow Dash, you sure showed me." She cackled. The mist began to swirl into a vortex and Nightmare Moon's head jutted out of the center.

"I admire your courage, but your ego and aggression will be your bane," she hissed.

"I'll show you aggression," Dash threatened and rushed towards the vortex. Before Rainbow could reach her target a hoof reached up and grabbed her tail. Her tail was yanked firmly and Dash slammed onto the hard ground.

"Who in the hay di—" Dash was cut off by Fluttershy's glare. Her eyes were wide and the left one slightly protruded from its socket.

"You need to calm down Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy commanded, her voice full of authority.

"But she—"

"Calm, down." Fluttershy's voice had lost its edge and was more soothing than commanding; but never once did she drop her gaze. Dash kept trying to look away, but her eyes always came back. The Stare was magnetic as well as effective.

Fluttershy released her hold on Rainbow's tail, and the cyan pegasus slowly stood up. She said nothing and stood beside Fluttershy looking down at the ground.

"Your friends have to resort to using the Stare to control you? How pathetic," Nightmare Moon taunted. Rainbow scraped her front hooves angrily against the ground but said nothing and refused to raise her eyes. Nightmare Moon gave a grunt of disappointment and turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"You'll find what you desire in the Everfree Forest. Take your time you foals, we're not going anywhere," she claimed.

"We? But there's only one of you. Or are you using the Royal Canterlot Voice? But you didn't do that a second ago and that's Luna's thing not yours. But you really are Luna so it really is your thing and—" Pinkie Pie was cut off when Applejack shoved an apple into her mouth. Although she continued her talk, the fruit muffled her voice.

"Pinkie Pie has a point. What happened to Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. The only response she received was the arrogant chuckle Nightmare Moon gave before she returned to her mist form and disappeared into the night.

"So what's the plan Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Simple, we go into the Everfree Forest and find Princess Celestia," she replied matter of factly. Fluttershy let out a shrill squeak at the mention of the Forest and hid behind Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight, do you really believe this is a good idea? I want to save Princess Celestia as much as anypony, but can we really trust Nightmare Moon? Besides, it's too dark for our search to be fruitful and the Forest is so icky," Rarity questioned.

"I don't think we have much of a choice Rarity. If Nightmare Moon is active then that means there's something wrong with both our Princesses and it's our job to find out what. I know it's dark but it'll stay dark unless we do something," Twilight answered.

"Ah'm with Twilight. That Nightmare Moon is shadier than a rattlesnake hidin' under a rock, but it's the only lead we got. Maybe Zecora could lend us a hoof," Applejack suggested. Twilight hadn't thought of that. Zecora was a friend of hers who lived in the forest. If anypony could help find the Princesses it was her.

"Ooh, I love Zecora! Now that I know she's not some evil enchantress who does evil dances and will gobble me up in a big tasty stew; I love talking to Zecora! She has a really funny way of talking," Pinkie Pie chimed in with half an apple left in her mouth.

"I'm down," Rainbow added nonchalantly; although her eyes were bright with the prospect of adventure. She continued to beat at the ground with her hooves, but now it seemed to be out of excitement rather than anger.

"Well, I suppose you and I ought to come as well Fluttershy. It would be rude to shun the Princesses in their hour of need; especially when the others are so willing to come to their aid," Rarity proposed. Fluttershy, who was still cowering behind Pinkie, gently shook her head.

"Come now Fluttershy, do you really want to offend the Princesses?" Rarity asked.

"Well, no but—"

"And you know the Forest better than anypony," Twilight added.

"Not better than Zecora," Fluttershy countered.

"But suppose we don't find Zecora, or she can't help us. It would just be the five of us and it'd be mighty hard for us to get anywhere without you. Not to mention how frightened we'd be without a guide," Applejack argued.

"Not me! I'm not scared of the Everfree Forest," Dash declared. Her boasting was followed by another swift kick from Applejack.

"Would you stop that?" Dash snapped. The earth pony ignored her.

"If you like, Ah'll be there with you the whole time sugarcube. Nothin' will get past me," Applejack offered.

"Pinkie promise?" Fluttershy asked.

"Cross mah heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Applejack recited as she did the motions. Fluttershy left her hiding place behind Pinkie and stood as close to Applejack as possible.

"Okay… I'll go," she agreed, her voice laced with doubt.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about all those mean ole monsters. They'll be running scared once they see you've got Applejack with you. Plus you've got your Auntie Pinkie Pie so you're super safe!" Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy frowned at Pinkie's patronizing.

"I'm still a year older than you," the pegasus grumbled irritably.

"Alright then, is everypony ready?" Twilight asked. All her friends nodded, some more vigorously than others.

"Then let's—"

"What about us?" Scootaloo interrupted. Uh-oh. Spike and the Crusaders had completely slipped Twilight's mind. They couldn't come; there was no question about that. Nightmare Moon had caused a landslide and unleashed a manticore on Twilight and her friends the last time they chased her into the Everfree Forest. She was a dangerous enemy and it would be irresponsible to bring three young fillies and a baby dragon on a journey into the same forest.

"We wanna help fight Nightmare Moon," Apple Bloom stated.

"We won't get in your way. We'll be good little fillies," Sweetie Belle chimed in. All three girls stood together and looked up at the older ponies with large smiles and bright eyes. They looked so adorable! Twilight didn't know how anypony could say no to them.

"No." Apparently Applejack did. Blunt as ever, she stared into her sister's eyes as she disappointed her.

"But Applejack, we wanna come with ya'll. Please," her sister pleaded. Apple Bloom began to pout and her amber eyes began to droop.

"You can't come with us. The Forest is a dangerous place as is. But with that varmint causin' a ruckus it'll barely be save for us grown ponies. Ah know ya'll think otherwise, but listen to me Apple Bloom. We'll come back and finish this here picnic once Nightmare Moon is gone; Ah promise." Applebloom turned to her friends and sighed.

"She's right, we should stay here," she reluctantly agreed. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked up at Rarity and Rainbow Dash for acceptance but the older ponies simply shook their heads. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat on the grass and looked down at their hooves dejectedly.

"You should keep them company Spike," Twilight suggested. It was more of an order than a suggestion but Twilight didn't want the girls to know they had a babysitter. That might incite them to cause some mischief. Spike understood Twilight's intent and gave her a brisk nod.

"Don't worry girls; we can have a great time! If they're off adventuring then there's less food to share!" he exclaimed. This seemed to brighten the girls' moods. They smiled and began to indulge in the apple deserts before them.

Twilight found herself smiling. What would she do without Spike? He was her oldest friend as well as her most trusted. When she was obsessed with being tardy on her friendship report some time ago it was Spike who took her seriously. He knew her better than anypony else and that was why she loved him. Not the romantic love her friends were hoping for, but love nonetheless.

"Everypony ready?" Twilight asked.

"You already asked us that. Yes, we're ready. Now let's go!" Dash replied impatiently.

"Let's get this over with," Fluttershy agreed. She was right. The sooner they got there the sooner they could leave; and Twilight didn't want to spend any unnecessary time in the Everfree Forest.

Something felt very wrong. The hairs on Twilight's body began to prickle and she could feel sweat slowly dripping from her forehead. This wasn't normal. Twilight didn't particularly enjoy the Forest, but she didn't fear it. Something was different this time. The atmosphere was darker and she couldn't shake the paranoid feeling that she was trotting into a trap.

A bloodcurdling scream from behind her interrupted her thoughts.

"Rarity!" Twilight yelled desperately as she whipped her head around. She dreaded to see her friend being mauled by a manticore.

"My crown fell in the mud! Pinkie Pie, be a dear and fetch it for me?" Rarity asked.

"Okey dokey lokey," the earth pony replied as she jumped into a mudhole.

"Rarity, ya'll said the dang tiara wouldn't slow you down and now it has. Can't we just dump it and fetch it later?" Applejack asked sharply.

"Heavens no! What if it were to sink to the bottom? Then I wouldn't be able to 'fetch it later'," Rarity disputed.

"It's no trouble Applejack. It's nice to have an excuse to jump in the mud!" Pinkie dismissed.

"Any luck?" Rarity asked. Pinkie Pie shook her head and dove under the mud.

"Fancy unicorn," Applejack mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that and take it as a compliment. Somepony has to have class," Rarity stated and flipped her hair into Applejack's face. Applejack actually growled and hunched down onto all fours. She was about to tackle Rarity into the mud when Fluttershy intervened.

"Stop, both of you! Can't you see that you're just playing into Nightmare Moon's hooves? If the six of us aren't in harmony then we won't be able to win against her. Besides, it saddens me to see my friends fight with each other," she scolded.

"Fluttershy is right, we'll get nowhere by quarreling," Rarity agreed.

"An' we'll also get nowhere if ya'll keep losing your crown," Applejack retorted. Rarity's eyes flashed in fury and her cheeks turned red hot.

"I found it!" Pinkie declared before Rarity could reply. The earth pony leapt out of the mud and skipped excitedly over to her friend with the crown dangling from her mouth. Rarity scrutinized the mud soaked crown disdainfully.

"Well, go on then. Take it," Applejack suggested.

Rarity gulped as she slowly reached towards the crown. Twilight noticed that Rarity's body was shuddering, and the shaking became more violent as she grew closer to the crown. That was the last straw.

"Ugh," Twilight groaned. She captured the crown with her magic and levitated it towards Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, you fly ahead to Zecora's hut and bring her back to us. We'll meet you on our way there. And while you're there; give her this," Twilight ordered. Rainbow took the crown and nodded compliantly before dashing off towards Zecora's. Rarity smiled at Twilight in gratitude and was given a curt nod in return.

"Um Twilight, wouldn't it be safer to use your magic to teleport us to Zecora? That way we wouldn't be so exposed," Fluttershy asked. The purple unicorn slowly shook her head.

"It would actually be more dangerous. I'm used the environment in Ponyville so I can teleport around without a problem, but I'm not used to the Everfree Forest. If I'm in an unfamiliar place and can't see where I'm going I could end up way off course. I don't want us all to get lost," she explained.

That was all true, but there was another reason Twilight didn't want to teleport. Teleporting took a lot of energy, which was why she walked most of the time. Even if she could successfully reach Zecora's the strain of teleporting six ponies would take its toll on her. Twilight had to be at full strength when it was time to confront Nightmare Moon. Losing was not an option when the Princesses were at stake.

"We're gettin' nowhere fast just sittin' here talkin'. Come on girls, we gotta move along," Applejack said. Her friends nodded in agreement, although Rarity's eyes were still cold with hostility.

"Fluttershy, since you know the area best you should take point," Twilight suggested. She expected opposition, but none came.

"Okay, I'll do it for the Princesses," Fluttershy agreed. The pegasus strode past Twilight and Applejack quickly took to her side.

"Don' worry, we'll all be okay," AJ whispered. Fluttershy gave her a small smile and began to lead her friends to Zecora's.

"What a pleasant surprise, to see Twilight and her friends before my eyes." The group had encountered Zecora without incident. Despite her uneasiness when they first entered the Forest, Fluttershy had led her friends with her head held high and a spark in her eye. Her effortless impression of a doormat wasn't as good as it used to be.

"Pleasant surprise? It's about time is more like it; what took you all so long?" Dash demanded. Rainbow's tactless comments were promptly ignored by her friends.

"How are you Zecora?" Twilight asked. The gray zebra shook her head.

"Truth be told, I will not lie; I am concerned about the starry sky. The shining sun I yearn to see, for Nightmare Moon has come to Everfree," she answered.

"An' what 'bout the Princesses? Ya'll see either of them?" Applejack asked.

"In the old castle of Everfree, a pony Princess there will be," Zecora replied.

"Where we first found the Elements of Harmony? Why would anypony, let alone a princess, be in such a dreadful place?" Rarity asked.

Twilight had a pretty good idea. An abandoned castle in the heart of a forest most ponies avoided at any cost; what better place to keep a high profile prisoner?

"Thank you Zecora," Twilight said graciously. As she turned to leave, Zecora reached out and placed a firm hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Forgive me if my words seem crude; but if you fail we all are screwed," the zebra warned. She then released Twilight and disappeared into her hut.

"And I thought Pinkie Pie was random," Dash muttered. Everypony but Twilight laughed. Zecora was right. The fate of Equestria rested on their shoulders. It was time to face Nightmare Moon and save the Princesses.

Something still felt wrong. Twilight and her group had reached the castle without interference. Why was this journey so easy? It was almost as if Nightmare Moon wanted them to rescue the Princesses. No villain in their right mind would want to lose their hostages, right? But Nightmare Moon wasn't an ordinary foe and all of this could be part of her plan. Twilight suddenly became very wary of the old castle.

"Sweet Celestia, look at this place!" Rarity exclaimed.

"It's beautiful," Fluttershy agreed. The ancient castle looked like it had received a makeover. All of the destroyed sections had been restored; and the castle now resembled the one in Canterlot in terms of architecture. Instead of the Canterlot white or the previous grey, the castle's new paintjob was a striking silver. The previously decaying door had received a crimson varnish along with an emerald doorknob that Rarity couldn't tear her eyes off of.

The wild vegetation that had taken over the castle was cleared away and allowed Twilight to see the emblem at the pinnacle. The emblem was a large white crescent moon in a dark purple fog; that was Princess Luna's cutie mark! Did she live in this castle? Twilight knew that she was co-ruling with Princess Celestia again but she assumed the two lived together in Canterlot. Then again, Twilight had never actually seen Luna in Canterlot so maybe she did live here. Or maybe it was another part of a trap.

As Twilight approached the door it slowly swung open to reveal a shadow-black void before her. Somepony seemed to be expecting them. "Keep your guard up everypony," she cautioned. A hoof lightly touched her back and she turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

"Let me go in first Twilight. If this is just one of Nightmare Moon's traps I'll spring it," she offered.

"But Rainbow, why would you want to spring a trap?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Because it's better if only one of us gets caught than all six of us. Besides, don't you remember what I said to you the first time we came here? I never leave my friends hanging," Rainbow replied with a cocky grin.

"But what if something bad happens…" Twilight didn't want to think of what could be lying in the darkness.

"If somethin' bad happens, RD will fly outta there faster than a barefoot jackrabbit on a hot greasy griddle," Applejack said. "She can take care of herself and she has my complete trust." Twilight sighed softly and hesitantly nodded her approval.

"Alright, just be careful," she conceded.

"Careful is one of my middle names; it's right in-between fast and awesome!" Dash declared as she recklessly charged through the open door into the darkness.

"I don't think she understands what careful is," Fluttershy stated. Twilight was inclined to agree.

"She's going to get herself hurt one of these days," the unicorn muttered irritably, trying to mask her worry.

"Don't worry sugarcube. Rainbow might be reckless, but she's as brave an' loyal as anypony. We'll here from her soon," she promised.

"I certainly hope so. It's positively freezing out here and I didn't bring a scarf," Rarity complained. Applejack rolled her eyes and muttered something about entitled unicorns.

A full minute had passed and there was no word from Rainbow Dash.

"What's taking Rainbow so long? Don't you think she would have said by now that she was ok?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'll go ask her," Pinkie volunteered. She bounced up to the mouth of the door and shouted:

"Hey Rainbow Dash, all clear?" There was no response.

"Dashie, are you okay?" she called. Still, there was no response. Pinkie looked back at her friends with very small eyes.

"She's not saying anything," she whispered.

"She must be in danger and we have a duty to save her," Rarity said. Applejack responded by gripping the brim of her hat and pulling it down over her forehead.

"Hold on Rainbow, we're com—" Applejack's cry was interrupted by a cyan pegasus popping out of the darkness and screaming: "BOO!" The five friends screamed in terror; Fluttershy even fainted. Dash didn't notice due to her excessive laughter.

"I'm sorry you guys but that was too tempting. The looks on your faces are priceless," she apologized through her laughter.

"That's it!" Applejack yelled angrily. She jumped into the air and tackled Rainbow Dash onto the castle floor. The two ponies hit the ground hard, causing the lights to flicker on. The other four ponies shuffled into the large hallway and stared at the new interior.

Unlike the outside plants the inside ones were permitted to stay; they were much tamer than the last time Twilight had visited though. The walls retained their purple color, albeit a more vibrant one. The center piece that had once contained the Elements of Harmony had now become a six pronged chandelier and each prong was decorated with a design representing the cutie marks of Twilight and her friends.

At the back of the room was a small staircase that led to a large platform. The platform was covered in deep purple carpet and on it rested a large black throne. An alicorn mare was sitting on that throne. The alicorn had a coat as black as the night and eyes as cold as ice. The Wicked Mare of Darkness began to clap her hooves.

"Well done my little ponies; you discovered our castle," Nightmare Moon said.

"We played your game Nightmare Moon. Now tell us where the Princesses are," Twilight demanded.

"Or what? You'll use your pathetic Elements against me?" the alicorn challenged.

"They weren't pathetic the last time they defeated you," Dash asserted. Nightmare Moon bit her lip and let out a low growl.

"I'm not so stupid as to fall for the same trick twice you foals. Your precious Elements won't defeat me again. And as for the game Twilight Sparkle, it's barely begun. If you want to find you're Princesses you'll have to play a new one," she hissed.

"Ooh I love playing games, especially pin the tail on the pony! That one is so much fun. Is that what we're playing and if not then what game are we playing?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Follow the leader," Nightmare Moon answered, disintegrating into mist again.

The mist floated out of an open window and made its way to the highest room in the tallest tower. That must be where she was holding the Princesses!

"How are we going to get up there?" Fluttershy asked.

"The same way we did last time. Go do your thing Pink," Applejack said. Pinkie nodded emphatically.

"Okey dokey lokey!" she responded and she began to sniff around the floor.

"Applejack, what is she doing?" Twilight asked.

"Well, the last time we were here you had teleported with Nightmare Moon an' left us all behind. We had decided to just run up the stairs and follow ya'll but Pinkie smelled snacks and was sidetracked. Turns out there was a secret passageway full of old food an' it doubled up as uh shortcut."

Twilight was genuinely impressed. She knew Pinkie had an odd way of doing things, the earth pony had appeared inside a mirror earlier for pony's sake, but she had to give credit where credit was due. Pinkie was incredibly resourceful; she proved that when she saved Ponyville from the parasprite invasion last year. Sometimes it was good to have a cloudcuckoolander in the group.

"Find anything yet Pink?" AJ asked.

"Not yet, but I'm on the trail," Pinkie reported. She crouched down as far as possible and her sniffing intensified. Pinkie stopped moving after a few seconds and straightened up.

"Hold on I'm feeling something," she said. Pinkie's ears suddenly flopped, followed by a fluttering of her eyes and finally the twitching of her knee. Twilight remembered that Pinkie Sense combo all too well. Somewhere a door was about to randomly open.

Poor Rarity. She had gotten uncomfortable and slightly shifted her weight when the cellar door opened beneath her. It wasn't a long or hard fall, but her landing triggered an explosion of dust around her. Her scream was bloodcurdling.

"Rarity, what happened? Are you okay?" Twilight had jumped down the hole and began to examine her friend's body. Thankfully nothing seemed to be broken.

"Of course it's not okay. It's positively filthy down here! I had taken a very long shower before I arrived at the picnic and now look at me. I'm grey!" she complained. Rarity's moon-white coat had morphed into an ashy-grey and she kept shuddering as she examined herself.

"Ooh, ooh I know how to fix you Rarity! It's so much fun to do; will you let me?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"And how do you plan on fixing me?" the unicorn asked intrigued.

"I'm gonna blow you like a candle!" Pinkie replied.

"Blow me like a candle? I'm not sure I follow," Rarity questioned. Pinkie looked at the ashy unicorn as if she was stupid.

"What do you mean you don't follow? It's simple, I blow on you and the dust comes off. Like blowing out a candle! Duh," Pinkie explained. She jumped into the cellar and intensely stared into Rarity's azure eyes.

"Pinkie Pie, what in Equestria are you doing?" Rarity asked uncomfortably.

"I'm staring," she answered flatly.

"Yes, I can see that but—"

"If you can see what I'm doing then why bother to ask?" Pinkie asked, genuinely confused.

"I'm simply curious as to why you're staring," Rarity clarified.

"Okey dokey lokey," the earth pony giggled and she continued to stare.

"So… are you going to explain why you're staring at me?" Rarity asked.

"Nopey dopey lopey," Pinkie answered.

"Why not?" Rarity demanded.

"Because you never asked me to. You said you were curious as to why I was staring but you didn't ask me to explain it. Then you asked if I was going to answer you without actually asking me to tell you," Pinkie answered. Rarity curled her lip and began to dig at the hard tile with her hoof.

"So then tell me Pinkie Pie; why are you just staring at me?" she growled.

"Because I have to focus on my target before I can blow it out. And you're much larger than what I usually deal with," the earth pony answered. To Twilight, it was obvious what Pinkie Pie meant. She was used to blowing out candles and, being a pony, Rarity was much larger than the average candle. Rarity, on the other hoof, had a slightly different interpretation.

"Are you saying I'm _**FAT**_?" She cried indignantly. Her nostrils flared and her eyes grew wide and bloodshot. Twilight wondered if Rarity was about to freeze over.

When a unicorn's level of frustration was at the absolute maximum the unicorn would undergo a temporary transformation. When this happened to Twilight her coat would turn cream, and her mane and tail would burst into flames. For Rarity, her coat would become completely clear and her mane and tail would become icicles. Twilight had seen Rarity enraged a few times but she had only seen her ice form once.

It happened when Rarity discovered that Cherilee had broken down one of the walls at the Carousel Boutique. Due to being under the effects of a powerful love potion Cherilee had gotten off the hook. But Sweetie Belle and her friends didn't; and since Twilight had given them the book with the potion Rarity had chewed her out as well. It was the single most terrifying experience of Twilight's life; not even Discord and the changelings could hold a candle to Rarity's icy wrath. Luckily for Pinkie Pie, Rarity hadn't reached that point yet.

"You're not fat, you're just bigger than a candle," Pinkie replied. Rarity's eyes lost their intensity and the rest of her face returned to normal.

"Oh. My sincerest apologies Pinkie Pie, but I'm quite sensitive in regards to my appearance. Please forigi—" Rarity was cut off by Pinkie blowing into her face. All the dust flew off of Rarity and scattered around the cellar floor.

"See now you're all better," Pinkie said with a bright smile.

"Thank you Pinkie Pie. You've saved me from a potentially traumatic experience," Rarity replied gratefully.

"Of course, what are friends for?" Pinkie replied.

"Friends are for helping you kick flank and save princesses," Dash answered as she swooped down into the cellar. "I hate to break it to you Rarity but you're going to be touching dust with every step you take and every move you make. The only way we'll get through this is if you ride on somepony's back."

"Are you volunteering?" Rarity asked. Dash's response was to crouch and cock her head towards her back.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash, it is greatly appreciated," Rarity acknowledged, as she trotted towards the pegasus and got on her back.

"I want a ride!" Pinkie exclaimed and proceeded to jump on Twilight's back. "Onward, mush!" she cried and kicked her hooves into Twilight's sides. Twilight didn't bother to argue. Instead she galloped forward, confident that Pinkie would direct her towards the Princesses. Dash ran beside her while Fluttershy hovered close by. Applejack brought up the rear because the cellar was too narrow to have four ponies sprinting side by side.

"Are we going the right way?" Twilight asked.

"Yep we are, but this place is more abandoned than when we were here last time. I mean, where are all the snacks?" Pinkie answered.

"Maybe whoever fixed this place up cleaned out the cellar," Twilight suggested.

"Cleaned out the cellar? Twilight, how can you call this clean? It's absolutely filthy down here," Rarity commented.

"'Sides nopony could eat all 'em snacks alone. If they did they'd have to be as big as a dragon," Applejack added. Pinkie burst out laughing.

"It's funny because dragons are hugungous!" she shrilled.

Twilight was about to point out that hugungous was not a word and Pinkie Pie meant to say humongous; but she remembered that this was Pinkie Pie and the earth pony had an aversion to common sense. Besides, Pinkie's choice of words was irrelevant to the crisis at hand. They had discovered the secret passageway that would lead them to their enemy, and the Princesses.

***

The six friends had finally conquered the cellar, much to Rarity's chagrin, and made their way to the tallest room of the tallest tower. But there was no sign of Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia was missing as well. The only sights in the barren room were a neat four-poster bed with black blankets and a pony sitting on a balcony starring at the sky.

Twilight could feel joy radiating from the stargazing pony. Her misty-purple mane swayed in the night breeze and the pony held her head back, revealing the tip of her dark blue horn. She spread her wings and began to croon:

"Now the hour has come at last. The soft and fading light has crossed the west horizon and has bidden us goodnight. And what a lovely night it is. To walk to a moonlit field to see the softer shades that are by starlight now revealed." Princess Luna sprang out from the balcony and gently flapped her wings.

"I will never understand why they prefer sister's sunny day to my dark and jeweled sky," she bemoaned.

"Princess Luna, what are you doing?" Twilight asked. The alicorn jerked her head around and looked at the friends with scorn.

"Twilight Sparkle, why doth thou bringest the trinkets?" she demanded.

"Trinkets? Do you mean the Elements?' Fluttershy asked. Luna nodded.

"Are we enemies once more?" she questioned.

"That depends," Rainbow replied.

"Pray tell what it dependeth on," Luna ordered.

"It depends on how much you know," the pegasus answered. The disdain disappeared from Luna's gaze and was quickly replaced with confusion.

"We are afraid we do not quite understandeth," she said.

"We want to know what you're doing here, where your sister is; and we want to know why the moon is shining in the middle of the day," Dash clarified. Luna's eyes widened.

"It's only the middle of the day?" she asked.

"That's what I just said," Dash answered rudely. Although Twilight knew Rainbow Dash had noble intentions, her friend's attitude wouldn't be useful at a time like this. She had to take control of the situation.

"I had wanted to spend time with Princess Celestia so I planned on hosting a picnic with her and my friends today. However, shortly after I showed up the sun had set, and Nightmare Moon reappeared. She led us to this room and now she's gone, but now you're here. We wanted to know if you knew anything," she explained.

"And why doth though believest we know anything?" Luna inquired.

"Because the last time we encountered Nightmare Moon she was you," Rarity answered.

"THOUH DARE ACCUSETH US?" Luna snapped.

"Heavens no, but it is hard to deny the coincidence," Rarity defended. Instead of diffusing any animosity, Rarity inadvertently lit a powder keg.

Luna perched on the edge of the balcony and slammed her hoof on the ground. Lightning flashed behind her and dark clouds began to gather in the sky.

"A COINCIDENCE IT MUST BE! WE HATH YET TO USETH MAGIC TO RAISETH THE MOON. IT IS NOT OUR DOING!" Luna thundered. She then turned her electric glare to Twilight. "AND THOU SHOULD KNOWETH THE TRINKETS REMOVED OUR DARK POWERS! WE ARE LUNA, NOT NIGHTMARE MOON!"

Twilight didn't know what to believe. Rarity was right, the evidence was not in Luna's favor. But Twilight could feel in her heart that the Princess was innocent. After Nightmare Night, Luna was happy and she was finally loved once again by her subjects. She wouldn't jeopardize that.

"I know," Twilight replied.

"How can ya'll be sure?" Applejack asked. Twilight shook her head.

"I just am," she answered.

"And that's not good enough. We need to know for sure before we just let her off the hook," Dash refuted. Twilight knew she couldn't refute Rainbow's logic; she had used it earlier herself. The atmosphere in the room had intensified as the unicorn and pegasus locked eyes. Neither of them was willing to give in to the other without solid justification. Only one thing could break the intensity in the room, a hungry earth pony.

"Hey Luna, do you have any snacks?" Pinkie Pie asked randomly. Luna looked down at her.

"THOU WISHETH FOR SNACKS?" she demanded. Pinkie nodded.

"Absolutely! When I realized we were going in the cellar I got excited and became super-duper starving and craved something sugary. But when we got there the cellar was empty. Do you know what happened?" she asked. The alicorn's eyes shifted downward bashfully and the storm clouds and lightning disappeared. Luna's cheeks turned a pale shade of pink and she began to shuffle her hooves awkwardly.

"After sister proposed that she and I rule together again it was decided that I should have this castle as my own. Canterlot had changed so much in a thousand years and I knew I would have trouble fitting in. Not to mention very few ponies were eager to see me. But here I would not have to deal with other ponies if I did not want to. I was ecstatic about the idea, but the castle itself was dreadful. I gave it what I believe you might call a makeover. During that process I stumbled upon the cellar and well… I was hungry," she answered.

"Now why would ya'll eat that much food all by your lonesome?" Applejack asked.

"We were sealed inside the moon for a millennium with nothing to eat. Why doth thou thinkest we binged?" Luna retorted, her voice regaining an edge.

"Fair enough," Applejack replied.

"To answereth thy question; no Pinkie Pie we doth not hath any snacks," the Princess said. The pink earth pony pouted but said nothing. Luna then turned to Twilight Sparkle.

"We apologize for our behavior Twilight Sparkle. We are sensitive when it comes to Nightmare Moon. But we promise that was our past not our present," she vowed.

"Don't listen to her lies Twilight!" Yet another thing made Twilight uneasy. That voice sounded was different. It was supposed to be benevolent. Twilight knew it for its warmth and wisdom, but now it spoke with pure venom. When Princess Celestia strode past Twilight, the unicorn could see an unrelenting force in her eyes.

"Sister, what are—" Luna was interrupted by Celestia's hoof smashing against her face. The younger alicorn fell off of the balcony and landed face first on the tile floor. She slowly raised her head and stared at her sister aghast.

"What is the meaning of this Celestia?" Luna demanded gently massaging her cheek.

"I could ask you the same thing," the elder alicorn replied coldly.

A sun-gold glow enveloped her long white horn and a large cylindrical bottle levitated in front of her. The bottle was half-full of a sparkling golden liquid that could only be apple cider. Considering that cider season was already over, it must have been vintage cider. Twilight noticed that Rainbow Dash was drooling slightly and she had to admit aged apple cider did sound delectable; but what about apple cider would drive Princess Celestia to attack her own sister?

"Look familiar?" Celestia interrogated. Luna stood up and looked her sister in the eye.

"Yes, it's thy birthday next week and we started to searcheth for a present. We sent it early because we know how much thou lovest cider. Clearly we were mistaken," she answered. Celestia's cold magenta glare did not ease upon her sister's reply. Instead, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What else is in the bottle Luna?" she pressed.

"Nothing, now will thou tell us what thy accuseth us of," her sister answered.

"Poisoning me," Celestia answered flatly.

"THOU ACCUSETH US OF WHAT?" Luna cried.

"HOW _**DARE**_ YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!" Celestia snapped.

"But Princess, why would Luna poison you? You're immortal! Poison would have no effect on you. Not to mention that Luna loves you," Twilight interrupted.

"I have a strong immune system Twilight, but I'm not impervious to all effects of poison. After drinking the cider I was in so much agony I couldn't move. If Cadence and Shining Armor hadn't discovered me I'd still be paralyzed in pain. Only manticore venom has that much bite," Celestia refuted.

"You drank _manticore_ venom?" Fluttershy asked in horror. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were wide.

"Fluttershy what is so potent about manticore venom," Rarity asked.

"Well as you all know manticores have stingers on the end of their tails, but due to their brute strength and nasty claws they don't usually have to use it. However, if a manticore feels severely threatened they will resort to using the venom in their stinger. I've read that it's strong enough to kill a hydra," the pegasus explained.

"And you put that in your sister's drink; what possessed you to do that?" Dash demanded.

"WE DID NO SUCH THING!" Luna cried.

"Then why did ya'll see fit to bring up the moon?" Applejack asked.

"WE TOLD THOU EARLIER WE DID NOT. TWAS ALREADY IN THE SKY WHEN WE AWOKETH FROM OUR SLUMBER!" the alicorn answered.

"Only an alicorn has that much power, but nor Cadence nor I raised it," Celestia argued.

"Maybe it was Nightmare Moon," Twilight suggested.

"What was that?" Celestia asked.

"While we were waiting for you to start the picnic Nightmare Moon appeared and led us here I initially wasn't sure if it was Luna having a relapse or if Nightmare Moon was really a separate entity. After this meeting I'm sure of the latter. Luna is innocent," Twilight declared.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but that's not possible. With the Elements you destroyed Nightmare Moon; I witnessed it with my own eyes. But the bitter embers in my little sister's heart were never extinguished and now they have blazed again. She took the form of Nightmare Moon to deceive you into fighting an enemy that does not exist," she asserted.

This was all so very wrong. Twilight knew that Luna was innocent. She didn't know how she knew it; she just did. But if she couldn't get through to Rainbow Dash then there was no way to get through to Princess Celestia. The Princess was the judge and her mind was made up. Something bad was going to happen to Luna and Twilight could sense that the repercussions would be disastrous. But she did nothing. She just sat there and watched the poor mare's punishment.

"The first time this happened I tried to reason with you Luna, but you wouldn't listen. I could only protect Equestria and I did that by banishing you. I had hoped that imprisoning you in the moon for ten centuries would have caused you to reflect on your actions and have a change of heart. I was clearly mistaken. You returned with a rage so dark that not even I could combat it.

"After your defeat at the hooves of Twilight and her friends I thought you returned to normal, and I extended a hoof in friendship. Clearly that too was not enough for you. Your bitterness and greed has led me to only one alternative. I am sorry my little sister; but you have brought this upon yourself."

Celestia's horn began to glow again and she struck her sister with a cold blast of light. Luna held out a hoof in defense, but the sad sparkle in her eyes revealed the hopelessness she felt. Within a few seconds, the once proud Princess of the Night had been reduced to a stone statue. Princess Celestia's icy demeanor shattered as she looked at her sister. She turned away from Twilight and her friends and began to cry.

"You left me no choice Luna… I'm so sorry."

Twilight felt herself tear up. She had just witnessed a pony she intuitively knew to be innocent, and a friend as well, be petrified before her eyes. Pinkie Pie openly wailed behind her and Applejack had removed her hat in respect. Even Rainbow Dash was sniffling.

The maniacal laughter only made it worse; sick and twisted laughter echoed throughout Luna's castle.

"Harmony is really quite fickle isn't it Celestia? One moment you love your sister and the next you give her the same treatment you gave me. You really are stone cold." Twilight felt her friends tense up around her, and for good reason. That voice could only belong to one creature. Somehow, Discord had returned.

_Authors Note: Some of you may have recognized that Luna's first few lines were taken from "The Moon Rises," and I would like to give credit to the author Ponyphonic. It's an amazing piece of work and is my favorite brony song. I definitely recommend it._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 3 A Perfect Plan**_

"How did you escape?" Celestia demanded.

"Isn't it obvious? I just missed you all with such passion that not even stone could hold me back," Discord answered.

"Don't play games with us Discord; tell her the truth," Twilight demanded.

"Oh Twilight Sparkle why so serious? You're even less fun than she is," Discord replied, ignoring the demand.

"Quit joking around and answer me!" Twilight pressed. The draconequus laughed in response.

"Are you sure you want the truth, sometimes it can cause more damage than a web of lies. How does the saying go? When all the truth does is make your heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take. Isn't that right Applejack?" he questioned.

"No, Ah learned my lesson. A hard truth is better than a soft lie," Applejack responded. A disappointed grunt echoed throughout the castle.

"Come on out and stop hiding like a coward!" Rainbow challenged.

"Well if it isn't Rainbow _Ditch_. I've heard Cloudsdale is absolutely awesome this time of year. Have you been there lately? Maybe you should take a trip?" he asked.

"I'll send you to Cloudsdale if you don't tell us how you escaped," Rainbow threatened. She stood up on her back legs and began to swing her front hooves erratically.

"Oh there's no need for that. I will gladly come out and tell you. After all, who am I to challenge the authority of the great Rainbow Dash?" Discord laughed.

Rainbow's shadow began to move. It came out of the ground and stood up on its back legs. It also began to morph. A beige dear antler protruded from behind its left ear, and a blue goat horn emerged from behind the right. While the shadow's right wing retained its feathery quality and took Rainbow's cyan color, the left wing decomposed into a dark purple bat-wing.

The left front leg mutated into a large lion's paw; while the right leg shriveled into a chicken's leg. The back legs each morphed into a brown goat's and a green lizard's respectively. The shadow's tail obtained the scaly-texture of a snake's and a dark red color.

The final transformation was that of the head and face. A small white goatee formed at the base of the chin and the shadow's eye brows became white and bushy. The neck and face elongated, and a large fang jutted out from the mouth. The last thing to change was the shadow's eyes. Once they had gained a sickly yellow sclera and incarnadine pupils the shadow's transformation into Discord had completed. The draconequus examined himself gleefully.

"Rarity you're the expert on beauty so what do you think? Handsome as ever?" he asked.

"Handsome? I think tacky is the better word. None of your pieces go together and you look more like a villain from a cartoon my sister would watch than a threatening spirit," she insulted. Discord angrily crossed his arms and looked away.

"You've obviously lost your keen eye, but what was I to expect from somepony who mistook a boulder for a diamond. How is Tom by the way?" he added deviously. Now it was Rarity who turned away in disdain.

"Violently decomposing at the Pie Family Rock Quarry," she answered flatly.

"So cruel, I like that in a mare," Discord replied as he suggestively licked his lips. Rarity let out a shrill squeak and her body convulsed. Discord only laughed.

"Oh, I really have missed you all. Did you miss them too?" he asked to nopony in particular.

At least that's what it seemed like until his shadow began to waver. A dark alicorn mare arose from the shadow and smirked at the seven ponies in front of her.

"I've missed all my subjects, especially the ones responsible for my defeat. I've waited so long to see them again, which is why I couldn't resist having a little fun with them. By adding the occasional plural into my speech I was able to plant the idea that I was Princess Luna into their heads. What foals they are," Nightmare Moon hissed.

Now it all made sense. Nightmare Moon was a separate entity from Luna and Luna's petrification had all been part of their plan. Twilight, her friends, and even Princess Celestia had played right into Discord's hooves… paws… whatever! They really had been complete foals. The only questions remaining was how did turning Luna to stone resurrect Discord, and how did Nightmare come overcome her destruction?

"Don't hurt yourself thinking Twilight Sparkle. We'll gladly explain how we were able to make our comeback. Do you remember the changeling invasion?" he asked.

"How do you know about them?" Celestia questioned.

"Haven't you learnt by now Celestia that I know everything?" Discord chuckled. "As it turns out, that was not the first time they invaded Equestria. Centuries ago, before even you were born, they escaped form Tartarus and tried to claim this land as their own. Obviously, I couldn't let my home be devoured by insects; so I cast them back into Tartarus and sent Cerberus to protect the gate. Due to being lapidified, _twice_, my spell lost its power and they were able escape once Cerberus had neglected his duties."

"Now, their second invasion isn't important but you remember that silly ability of theirs? They feed off the love of others and change into their loved ones? I tried feeding off love once and it tasted like diabetes. Absolutely disgusting! But although I found their food source nauseating, their shape shifting ability intrigued me.

"What if I could make a creature that could possess an object, either biological or inanimate, and when it left the object be able to take its form _and_ be able to use all its abilities. I went mad with joy and got to work instantly. When I was finished I was very pleased with my creation. You know it well Celestia, as do you Twilight Sparkle. It has a very… lunar essence to it; if you know what I mean." Discord paused to laugh while Nightmare Moon continued his story.

"After my birth, my creator instructed me to unleash chaos upon Equestria. I did that by taking the forms of many different creatures, and every day was a nightmare for my poor subjects. I loved it. Equestria was perfect until the Sun and Moon decided to rebel. They found those trinkets you cleave to and used them to seal my master into stone. I was _furious_ with them, but I knew challenging them directly would only lead to my own demise.

"Whilst I plotted my revenge I had a revelation. If harmony had defeated Discord then disharmony should bring him back. Of course, no small act of disharmony would suffice. It had to be an abominable action, and who better to commit it than the sisters I desired vengeance upon? My plan was simple; I would take control of the younger sister and use her body to create an eternal night. The eldest would disapprove and would take diplomatic action, and when that failed it would come down to a battle. The two sisters dueling with each other; what could be more disharmonious than that?

"Possessing Luna was easier than taking candy from a foal. The bitterness and envy were already present so I met little resistance. As I predicted 'Tia came to negotiate with me, and when that failed she resorted to violence. Unfortunately, I failed to accurately predict the results of the duel. Instead of releasing my master, I was sealed inside the moon for a millennium with Luna. My only entertainment was convincing Luna that I was her true self and she was inherently evil. As time went on she actually began to believe my lies. Priceless," the Wicked Mare of Darkness hissed.

"But if you didn't escape when I banished Nightmare Moon then how did you escape this time?" Celestia demanded.

"Because that time you were not directly engaging your sister. Luna was under the influence of Nightmare Moon and was a legitimate threat to you. You protected your subjects by fighting her and your actions were justified. However, lapidifying your sister was not, and that is why I'm here now," Discord explained.

"But how is Nightmare Moon alive? I saw the Elements of Harmony destroy her," Twilight questioned.

"The Elements never destroyed me. They only exorcised me from Luna. To prevent actual destruction I fled to Froggy Bottom Bog. There I rested and my strength slowly returned. I waited till I was at full power to strike back," the dark alicorn finished.

"Ah don' think it matters how ya'll are back. Ah reckon since we've got our Elements here we can just defeat ya'll again," Applejack claimed.

"AJ's right! Who in the hay cares how they got out? We can just take them down again!" Dash agreed. The Element of Loyalty around her neck began to glow and it was quickly joined by Honesty, Generosity, Laughter and Kindness. Magic wasn't as gung ho. Like her mentor, Twilight had been played like a chess piece. Even if they did defeat Discord and Nightmare Moon what would stop them from returning a third time? Disharmony wasn't something that could be destroyed. Was their battle just a vicious cycle that would carry on until Twilight had passed on?

Unlike Twilight, Discord didn't hesitate to act. The draconequus snapped his hooves… paws… whatever! And Princess Celestia disappeared in a flash of light.

"Princess!" Twilight yelled.

"What did you do to her?" Rainbow demanded.

"Don't worry your Princess is quite safe. I'm just borrowing her as collateral," Discord assured.

"What do you need collateral for?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I need it for my game of course! It's a rather fun one," he answered.

"Ooh another game! What's this one gonna be? I'm still hoping for pin the tail on the pony!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Sorry to disappoint you Pinkie Pie; but I enjoy games that are a bit more practical, like hide-and-seek," Discord answered.

Nightmare Moon rolled her icy eyes. Clearly she didn't reciprocate her creator's love of games. Twilight empathized. She didn't want to play any game Discord had come up with, even one as seemingly innocent as hide-and-seek.

"What would we be lookin' for?" Applejack asked.

"Your Elements of Harmony," he replied.

"Forget it, there's no way we're giving them to you!" Dash countered.

"Then good luck finding your Princess," Discord retorted. That shut Rainbow up. She began to kick angrily at the ground and she looked over at Twilight.

"What do you think boss?" she asked.

Twilight began to reflect on her earlier thoughts. Being used as Discord's pawn had hurt her ability to think and she feared her battle with him would be everlasting. That was not the case. Disharmony might be eternal but that didn't mean she would succumb to its influence. Nor would Princess Celestia. Saving her was the priority and Twilight would be willing to play along with Discord to save her.

"I think I want to know what the rules are," the unicorn replied. A large smile formed on Discord's lips.

"The rules are quite simple. You give me the Elements and I hide them around Equestria while you give me a head start. Once I'm done hiding them you look for them, no time limit or anything. If you manage to find all six of them I will gladly give you back your Princess," he explained.

"Are you sure we can trust him Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight shared her friend's misgivings. They were dealing with the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and a shape shifter with an arsenal of abilities. Twilight could only think of one way to control the game; she had to make her own rules.

"No, which is why I'll only agree to play his game if he agrees to some conditions," Twilight replied.

"Name them," Discord allowed.

"Master, you're going to let this insolent unicorn bargain with you?" Nightmare Moon questioned incredulously.

"Of course I am. I love a good game and Twilight Sparkle might present me with an interesting twist. Now name them," he answered.

"First, Princess Celestia is not to be harmed," Twilight proposed.

"Done. I never planned on harming little 'Tia anyway," he agreed.

"And while the game is ongoing you are not allowed to distort the world as you did last time _or_ hypnotize anypony in Equestria," she finished.

"Oh come on! You're asking me for way too much on that one. I can hold off on the hypnotism, but no distortions? No chocolate rain, that's just ludicrous! Back me up on this Pinkie Pie. You know you enjoyed what I did with Equestria," Discord begged. Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement.

"I definitely did! Those cotton candy clouds were genius and I went banana-splits over the chocolate rain! Please Twilight just let him have his chocolate rain," Pinkie begged. Twilight shook her head.

"No. I won't let Equestria succumb to that," Twilight refused.

"Then I don't agree to your conditions," Discord said.

"Then we won't play your game," Twilight snapped.

"Then you've lost your Princess," Discord countered. The two glared into the other's eyes with undisguised animosity. Finally Nightmare Moon intervened.

"Might I suggest a compromise? Master is allowed to spread all the chaos he wants, but only in one location. He will not hypnotize any of the residents there and will give them fair warning about what is to come. Anypony who remains will be subjected to his power. The rest of Equestria will be safe from his direct rule," she suggested.

"It sounds fair," Twilight whispered. The idea was fair, but she still didn't like it. She didn't want to give Discord an inch. But did she have a choice? It was the only way to save Princess Celestia without completely ruining Equestria.

"I agree with Twilight Sparkle, fair is fair. You give me the Elements of Harmony and I won't harm Celestia nor will I terrorize all of Equestria. Do we have a deal?" Discord asked. Twilight nodded and used her magic to levitate her Element towards Discord.

"Ah don't like this, but Ah trust you Twi'," Applejack said as she placed her Element at Discord's feet. Her other friend's followed suit with Rainbow Dash being the last. She hesitated before finally discarding her Element, only doing so at Twilight's encouraging nod. Nightmare Moon took her mist form and ensnared the Elements of Harmony inside a dark cloud.

"You know what to do," Discord whispered to her, his voice turning deadly serious. His eyes became rock hard and his voice became layered with evil. Twilight could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. That was truly the scariest sound she had ever heard.

"Yes, my Master," the mist hissed and slipped off into the night.

"Excuse me Discord, but how long is your head start going to be? I'm just aching to hurry this whole affair up so I can return home and take a long relaxing bath," Rarity asked.

"Oh trust me Rarity, you don't want to return to Ponyville anytime soon," Discord advised.

"And why would that be?" she asked.

"Because, Ponyville will once again the Chaos Capital of the World," he answered.

"No! You ca—" Twilight was interrupted when Discord turned to face her.

His eyes had turned into multi-colored swirls and were impossible to look away from. He was hypnotizing them. That cheating bastard! The last sound Twilight heard before passing out, was Discord's triumphant laughter.

Beams of sunlight assaulted Twilight Sparkle's eyelids and forced her to awaken. A blissful smile decorated her face and she felt lightheaded. It had been years since she had slept like that. For once no nightmares disturbed her sleep. Instead, she dreamt about having a picnic with her friends and mentor on a bright sunny day.

Then reality hit her. Twilight remembered what had caused her to sleep like that. Discord! Since she had woken up she assumed his head start was over, but how long had she been out? And where were her friends? She frantically looked around and identified the five sleeping bodies of her friends. She inspected them and discovered they were all okay. They hadn't turned grey, so Discord hadn't corrupted them. Maybe he had played fair and had just used his powers to summon the deep sleep.

"Wake up everypony!" she called. Her friends began to stir around her.

"I haven't slept like that in ages. It was wonderful," Rarity claimed.

"I know what you mean Rarity. Angel usually wakes me up to give him a midnight snack and I can't deny him that. I haven't had a good night sleep in years. It's so nice to not be bothered," Fluttershy agreed. Pinkie Pie began to crack her neck in various positions.

"And now that we've woken up we can play hide-and-seek!" she squealed with her head being upside down.

"Yeah! Let's go save the Princess and fight Discord!" Dash cried.

"An' how do you reckon we'll find 'em?" Applejack asked her. Rainbow began to massage her chin in thought.

"Twilight, do you know a spell that can help us track them?" she asked. The unicorn shook her head.

"I don't. But I do know that this job is too large to handle by ourselves. Discord didn't say we couldn't have other ponies help out. We have plenty of friends in Ponyville," she answered.

"But that's where Discord said he'd rule," Applejack reminded. Twilight had forgotten about that. Discord said he would warn the inhabitants before unleashing his power, but how long would it be before he terrorized them. She had friends there; her pet Owlowicious was there. And Spike! Twilight wasn't a religious mare, but she whispered a silent prayer to whatever was listening that the baby dragon was safe.

"What about a spell that can un-stone a pony?" Pinkie asked.

"Un-stone? Do you mean reanimate? Why would you ask that?" Twilight asked. Pinkie's reply was to point at the sad statue that was formerly Princess Luna. Twilight had forgotten about what happened to Luna and was overcome with a sense of guilt. Her friends had accused the Princess of evil while she had just sat back and watched. Rescuing the Princess from her current state would be no easy task; but Twilight owed it to her to try.

"As it turns out, I made an effort to learn such a spell after my unfortunate encounter with a cockatrice. The spell is powerful, but I don't know if I have enough power to override Princess Celestia's magic alone. Rarity, I'm going to need your help with this," Twilight answered.

"I'd gladly offer my assistance Twilight but I'm not familiar with the spell," Rarity remarked.

"That won't be a problem. All you need to do is focus on Princess Luna in her normal state and fire a beam of magic at her body. Star Swirl the Bearded swore it saved him during a bout with a cockatrice in his autobiography," Twilight explained.

"Very well then, shall we lock hooves to conjoin our power?" Rarity asked, offering a hoof.

Twilight hesitated. Locking hooves with another pony was a sign of intimate affection, the kind she didn't feel for any of her friends. When she was a filly and didn't know any better she had often performed such a gesture with Spike. She had received ridicule from many of her peers due to her actions. She could still remember the children taunting: "Spilight Spikle, Spilight Spikle." It wasn't the meanest thing they could have come up with but the annoyance of it had impacted the young unicorn. She had developed an aversion to intimate affection at a tender age and had never bothered to fix the damage.

"Something wrong?" Rarity asked concerned. Twilight frantically shook her head, removing her childhood insecurities from her mind. Luna's revival took precedence over the awkward feeling in her gut.

"Nope, nothing. Completely fine," she denied. She quickly grabbed her friend's hoof and squeezed it tightly. Rarity winced and lightly bit her lip, but did squeeze back gently.

"Remember, visualize Luna as she normally is and fire away," Twilight reminded. Rarity nodded and closed her eyes. A blue light enveloped her horn and a blue beam burst from it towards the Princess. Twilight closed her eyes as well and imagined Princess Luna as the powerful alicorn she was on Nightmare Night. She fired her own blast of light at the petrified princes and let the spell begin.

"What in tarnation? The stone is startin' to melt away!" Applejack exclaimed.

"It's working, keep it up!" Pinkie encouraged. Twilight opened her right eye and discovered that both the earth ponies were right. Luna's horn had returned to normal and her face was starting to regain its color. It was working a lot quicker than she had anticipated.

"We're actually doing it!" Rarity gasped. Twilight nodded and closed her eye. She intensified her focus and amplified the power of her magic. In just a few minutes a horrible deed would be undone and Twilight's conscience would be clear.

"You need to put more power into it Rarity. Twilight's doin' most of the work for you," Applejack chided. Rarity snorted, in the most lady-like manner possible, but Twilight could feel her friend increasing her power output. She opened her eye again to check up on their progress. Luna's head was slumped over, but free. Her wings were limp, but they were flesh and bone instead of stone. The majority of her body had recovered as well. Her watery eyes were barely open and stared blankly at the two unicorns.

"Twilight Sparkle?" she susurrated. Twilight nodded.

"Don't worry Luna, we'll get you out of here," she promised. "Give it all you've got Rarity!" The white unicorn responded by strengthening her grip on Twilight's hoof. Their streams of magic crossed and created an undulating beam of light that enveloped the bottom half of Luna's body. Sweat began to pour from Rarity's body and Twilight could feel her own forehead dampen. She could hear Rarity panting beside her and saw her friend's legs buckle beneath her. Rarity wouldn't last much longer, but luckily the process was nearly complete. Only Luna's hooves remained and then they would be… done!

Twilight dropped her friend's hoof as soon as Luna's were released from stone and was able to maintain her balance; although she did feel dizzy. Rarity wasn't so lucky. She dropped to the floor and gasped deeply. She was barely able to support herself and Applejack rushed to her side.

"Tell me Applejack; is that enough power for you?" Rarity asked in a surprisingly light-hearted tone. Applejack slipped her shoulder under the unicorn and allowed Rarity to rest upon her.

"Yeah, ya'll are not bad for a fancy unicorn," she chuckled. Rarity tried to smile but only ended up coughing.

"Pardon my uncouth demeanor Princess, but I'm not used to performing such high level magic," she apologized. Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes. Even though she was barely conscious, Rarity still focused on how she presented herself. Princess Luna didn't acknowledge her. Her attention was focused on glaring at Twilight.

"Where hath thou been all this time?" she demanded.

"We've been here the whole time. After you were turned to stone Discord returned an—"

"We knoweth what happened! We witnessed Discord's return through our stony gaze. What we wish to discovereth is where thou hast been all this time?" she interrupted.

"We've been here, just like Twilight said. Discord made us sleep so he could set up our game of hide-and-seek. Do you want to play with us Luna? You totally should. It would be fun!" Pinkie answered.

"Thou hast been sleeping?" Luna asked dumbfounded. After a few seconds a small grin appeared on her face and she reared back and began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Rainbow Dash demanded. Luna turned to look at the pegasus and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

"Thou hath the gall to acuseth us of evil and now shall receive the same fate we did upon our return to Equestria. Irony hath always been a cruel mistress," she answered.

The same fate she had received? What in the hoof did that mean?

"What fate is that?" Fluttershy asked.

"Thou shalt know it soon enough," Luna replied briskly. Her wings began to flap and she gently ascended into the air.

"Enjoyeth thy game Twilight Sparkle, thou doth deserve every second of it for what thy allowed to happen to us," Luna spat. She clapped her front hooves together and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Someone's bitter," Dash muttered.

Twilight was truly at a loss; she had used a lot of magic, one of her friends was barely conscious, Luna had abandoned her, and now she had more questions than answers. Luna acted as if it had been years since her petrification when it had only been hours… hadn't it? And what did she mean by the same fate? Twilight began to dread what awaited her outside of the ancient castle.

"Should we go find Zecora? Maybe she could help us find the Elements," Fluttershy suggested. Zecora, of course! She had guided them during their hunt for Nightmare Moon so she should be able to help them win their game.

"That's a great idea Fluttershy. I know Zecora will help us out," Twilight affirmed.

"Since we'll be going through the cellar, do you want me to carry you again Rarity?" Rainbow offered. Rarity gently shook her head.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash, but I shan't require your services. I may detest gaiting through the cellar and forest, but I do have my dignity to uphold. I must admit, being gallantly briskest into battle on the back of a pegasus had always been a childhood fantasy of mine; but I will not be carried about like a damsel!" Rarity refused.

She broke away from Applejack and proudly stood on her own four hooves… for about two seconds. Her legs crumbled under her and Applejack quickly wrapped her hooves around Rarity's waist and prevented her from falling over.

"On second thought, maybe being carried isn't such a bad idea," she agreed, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"Don't worry Rarity, Ah gotcha ya'll," Applejack assured. She gave the unicorn a friendly wink and then flipped Rarity onto her back.

"Hold on tight, cuz it's gonna be a bumpy ride," Applejack warned. Rarity wrapped her front hooves around the earth pony's neck, as Applejack reared up on her hind legs and let out her battle cry: "Yeeehaw!" Applejack sprinted towards the secret passageway and her friends followed her.

As they made their way through the cellar, Twilight couldn't help but notice that it was much cleaner than it had been earlier. How was that possible? The castle's owner had been incapable of cleaning and Twilight had found no indication of there being any servants or guards. The hairs on the back of her neck had begun to prickle again. Was it possible that somepony else had taken over in Luna's absence? How long had that absence been, and who had taken over? Twilight hoped that Zecora could provide her with the answers to those questions.

Once Twilight and her friends had exited the cellar she finally understood Luna's cryptic warning. When the Princess had returned to Equestria she had received a culture shock. Time had gone by without her and she had trouble adjusting to the new world. Twilight didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it couldn't have been only a few hours.

Her first indicators were the plants in the castle's main room. Before Discord's revival, the plants had been well groomed. They were more like tapestry than wild vegetation. That had changed. The walls were now sheets of dying ivy and the few bushes that grew were dehydrated and withered.

The second indicator was the chandelier. While it still hung, the designs of Twilight's and her friend's cutie marks had been replaced. Fluttershy's butterflies were removed in favor of a pair of cockatrice eyes, the three diamonds that had represented Rarity were snubbed in favor of a cat o' nine tails and each tail resembling the claws of a Diamond Dog and the trio of red apples was replaced by a duo of incomplete apples that Twilight remembered being on the flanks of Flim and Flam.

Pinkie Pie's balloons were erased and a griffon's tail had taken their place, the star that represented Twilight was deleted and Trixie's wand and pixie dust cutie mark was in its stead, the final replacement was Rainbow Dash's tri-colored lightning bolt being snubbed in favor of the hat Rarity had designed to be worn as part of the Mare-do Well disguise.

Twilight wasn't sure what that symbolized, and the Mare-do Well hat made absolutely no sense to her, but her intuition told her it couldn't be good. Her friends didn't seem to notice the change in setting and they all sprinted out into the lush trees and foliage that was the Everfree Forest. As she ran out of the castle, Twilight cocked her head around to notice one final change.

The emblem that had formerly been Princess Luna's cutie mark was now a glowing pair of ruby eyes. Twilight felt as if she were being petrified as the cockatrice eyes glared down at her. She tore her eyes away from the glare and took off after her friends, hoping to reach Zecora as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, her search for Zecora and the answers she held would have to be postponed. A loud squawk pierced the air and the six friends quickly huddled together.

"Fluttershy, do you know what in tarnation made that noise?" Applejack asked

"A bird," Fluttershy answered. Twilight sighed. Fluttershy wasn't trying to be smart; she was legitimately answering a question. But the answer she gave came off that way and Twilight had to resist the urge to make a rude comment.

"Well duh it's a bird Fluttershy; there aren't any other creatures who squawk." Rainbow Dash clearly didn't bother resisting the urge.

"I'm sorry I can't give a more useful answer, but I can't identify what kind of bird it is by just one squawk. Please don't be mad," Fluttershy whispered. Rainbow lightly wrapped a hoof around her friend's neck.

"Of course I'm not mad. I'm just a little scared right now. I don't like this place any more than you do and I want to get out of here as fast as possible," she assured.

Twilight couldn't help but feel proud of her friend. Rainbow rarely, if ever, admitted to being scared of anything. It was obvious to Twilight she only said that because she was kind enough to sacrifice her ego to make Fluttershy feel better. Dash really did have a good heart underneath that tough exterior.

But then Twilight saw her friend's face. Rainbow Dash had hung her head and her ears dropped. A melancholic frown replaced her usual grin, and her eyes lost their arrogant sparkle. Now they only possessed a forlorn twinkle. Rainbow Dash truly was afraid and now Twilight was too.

Rarity's loud screech didn't help. Dash and Twilight both jumped and Fluttershy fainted again. Pinkie Pie had fallen over laughing.

"Oh Rarity, you're so silly. Did you get dust on yourself again or maybe some dirt?" she asked through her laughter.

"Dirt? That's quite a bold name to call somepony you've never met before," a gruff male voice replied flatly. Pinkie stopped laughing and rolled off of her back and stood in-between Rainbow and Twilight.

Twilight looked over at Rarity. Her friend's eyes were brimming with terror and her lips wouldn't stop quivering. A snow-white hoof was holding a large knife to the unicorn's throat and another hoof was holding one to Applejack's.

"Now just who do ya'll think you are?" Applejack demanded. The pony holding the knives grunted.

"Maybe you're too much of a backwoods hick to know this, but usually it's the pony with the knife who asks the questions while the one with the knife to their throat shuts up," he retorted.

"_**HICK**_? How dare ya'll call me that?" Applejack yelled. "Why Ah outta—" The earth pony was interrupted by the knife being pressed closer to her throat and gently pricking the skin.

"Now what did I say about shutting up?" the voice growled.

"Low life coward," Applejack, quite literally, spat. A gruff, but genuine, laugh erupted from behind Applejack.

"Low life coward, eh? Trust me sister, I've been called much worse by mares much prettier. I think scum bag mud sucker was my favorite. What was yours Rum?"

Twilight felt something cold press against her back. She turned her head around and saw two things. The first was a light grey pegasus stallion standing behind her on his back legs. The cutie mark on his flank was a tornado with a pair of wings. His mane and tail were spiked backwards and were smoky-grey apart from an ashy streak. Unlike the mane and tail, his eyes were uniform in their color. They were the same shade of violet as Twilight's. The eyes stared at Twilight with regret and lost innocence. Somehow, they comforted her.

The other thing she saw didn't. In one of the stallion's front hooves was an object made of clouds. The hoof was holding a rectangular grip that was connected to a long cylindrical barrel. The barrel was the cold thing pressed against Twilight's back. She didn't know what the object was or what it was capable of, but guessed that it was some type of weapon.

"I'm still a sucker for jokes about your appearance. Pirate jokes just never get old," Rum laughed. The pony holding the knives let out an irritable grunt but said nothing.

"What is that?" Twilight asked the pegasus.

"A pirate? They're ponies who pillage and plunder and—"

"I know what a pirate is! I'm asking about that thing you're pressing against my back!" Twilight snapped.

"Sorry," Rum mumbled and lowered his gaze. "This is a drizzler."

"And what's a drizzler?" Dash questioned.

"You don't know what a drizzler is? But you're a pegasus! Have you been sleeping under a rock for the last seven years?" Rum exclaimed.

Seven years? Was that how long Discord had put them to sleep? That would explain the ivy, the chandelier and new technology; but that was ridiculous. How could Twilight and her friends have slept for seven years? That just wasn't possible… was it?

"So what does a drizzler do? Is it like a sprinkler, because I love sprinklers! I've used them in parties before and they're always a blast!" Pinkie said.

"Well, it does shoot water," the pegasus answered nervously.

"Ooh, can you shoot me with it? Please, please, please? I'm pretty thirsty and I could use some water," Pinkie begged.

"Uh…" Rum took a step backwards, raised the drizzler into the air and pointed it at the nearest tree. "Trust me you do not want to drink this water." He squeezed the drizzler's handle and a rain drop burst from it and hit the tree branch. The branch shattered at the impact and broke in two. Pinkie's eyes popped wide open.

"Never mind, I don't want any water now," she stated.

Twilight sighed, half in awe and half in relief. That weapon was definitely powerful, but now that it wasn't pressed against her back she could think clearly. The two stallions had used the element of surprise so they were most likely outnumbered. Rarity wasn't in fighting condition and Fluttershy was still under her fainting spell, but the numbers would still be on her side if it came to a fight. But due to her enemies having weapons fighting with them wouldn't be ideal. She and her friends were still alive so that also meant their attackers had no intention of killing them. That meant they must be trying to steal from them.

"We don't have any money so there's no point in robbing us," Twilight claimed.

"Oh believe me Twilight Sparkle, if that is who you truly are, we have no intention of stealing from you," the stallion with the knives guaranteed.

"Then what do you—" Twilight stopped talking and began to ponder something new.

"How do you know my name? And what do you mean if that's who I truly am?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," the stallion with the knives answered.

He twirled the knife at Applejack's throat so that the blade was no longer facing her skin and he shoved the blunt end into the earth pony's neck. A choking noise escaped from Applejack's throat as she fell to the ground unconscious; and Rarity followed soon after. Now that her view wasn't obstructed, Twilight had a better view of the stallion with the knives.

In the dark forest light, she could see that the stallion was a small white earth pony. Oddly, there were also beige patches on his body; most notably on his right eye. She couldn't discern what his eye color was but she could tell that it was dark. The stallion wore a bright red bandanna on his head with a large golden L, U and X on the front. For some reason he also had a patch over his left eye. Rum was right; the earth pony did look like a pirate.

"Hey, how dare you hurt my friends!" Rainbow yelled.

"And what are you going to do about it?" the earth pony asked. Before Rainbow Dash could reply, the pegasus stallion smashed the butt of his weapon into her back. Dash landed on her chest hard, but was still conscious.

"Dashie!" Pinkie shrieked. Rum quickly turned his drizzler on Pinkie and stepped on Dash's back to prevent her from getting up.

"I'll shoot if I have to," he threatened. Pinkie slowly lowered herself onto the ground and began to tear up.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. Rum's eyes softened and he looked down at the ground.

"I'm so sorry," the pegasus whispered.

"I'm not," Twilight growled. Rum turned around and was blasted in the chest by a ball of magenta energy. As he fell to the ground, he lost control of his drizzler. Twilight caught it with her levitation spell and pointed it at the earth pony.

"Back away from my friends or I'll shoot," she warned.

"Try it unicorn. It won't work, and even if it could I wouldn't comply with your demand. You see, I'm not scared of unicorns. As far as I'm concerned they're a bunch of entitled snobs. Sure, not all of them act like it, some of them are even pretty decent; but they're all lazy. They don't have to work the way earth ponies and pegasi do. Magic—" The earth pony paused to spit after saying the word:

"Is a disgrace to hard work. Unicorns are weak and worthless worms and I wish they would all wriggle beneath my hooves. Oh, and while I've been ranting about your race my friend was able to sneak up on you and he will proceed to knock you unconscious. Sayonara sweet cheeks." The earth pony finished his monologue by blowing Twilight a mock kiss.

A sharp claw tapped the unicorn on the shoulder. As Twilight reluctantly turned around she looked upon the form of a teenage dragon. The dragon was a couple heads larger than she was, but was still smaller than the ones she encountered during the Dragon Migration. The dragon's body scales were purple, but the ones on his underbelly were a light green. The spines that ran down his back were green as well, albeit a darker one, as were his eyes.

To Twilight, it looked as if emeralds had been plucked from the ground and placed into the dragon's eye sockets. They were entrancing and the unicorn couldn't keep her eyes off of them. Although she had never seen eyes as beautiful as these, she couldn't help but think that they were familiar to her as well. Wait, a purple dragon with green spines and eyes? Suddenly it all made sense and Twilight had a very good idea about who she was looking at.

"Spike?" she asked, hoping for confirmation.

"I'm potentially very sorry about this," the dragon said. He contracted his claw into a fist and punched Twilight square in the face, instantly knocking her unconscious.


End file.
